Hunted Hero
by Carpetbakr
Summary: Tony and his best friends Rhodey and Pepper are mutants. They flee from the MRD to the brilliant Charles Xavier's School, a school for mutants as well as a home. However, Tony's memory is gone. He can't remember anything from his horror-filled past, and the only souveniers he has from it are his heart, twisted and vulnerable, and a strange sphere of blue metal from his father.
1. The Skies Above

**Alright, here's the first chapter! I'm so excited to be posting this at LAST! I'll probably update quickly, since I've already written this story up to chapter 28. ;) I hope you all like it!**

**Chapter 1, "The Skies Above…"**

It was nighttime in the forest. The empty black sky was set ablaze by the dim light of the full moon, completely obscured by deathly black clouds. Icy hail and vicious winds tore at everything, causing the forest's animals to scuttle back into their homes. Leaves and debris flew everywhere in the confusing tangle of wind, as well as needle-sharp fragments of ice. The air seemed to be at war with itself, violently tearing up plants and spitting frigid air and ice at everything in sight, an uncommonly brutal tempest.

In other words, it was a dark and stormy night.

All avian life had abandoned the sky and returned to their twiggy nests, leaving the screeching wind to its deadly song. Only two objects flew, braving the howling wind and deadly spittle, the sky's fury, and those two objects were small airplanes.

The familiar green-with-darker-green-and-even-darker-green splotches of color splattered their surface, the perfect camouflage for the forest they flew over. They were slightly small, with two leather seats beside each other, with a medium-sized sleeping space behind them. Many plain buttons were sitting on the dashboard at the pilot's control panel, with labels like, "CLOAKING" or "SPEED BOOST", one that said "SMOKE TRAIL", and even a crescent-moon shaped blue one that read, "MACHINE GUNS", located just below the pilot's steering controls.

The peculiar airplanes were masterfully crafted, though, both incredibly strong and durable, yet lightweight and maneuverable. The wings had many metal flaps, which could open and reveal much heavy artillery.

Though the clouds unleashed their untamed fury at the two objects that dared fly into its domain, the hail, water, and battering winds could not sway them. Their flight swayed a bit, but flew on resolutely. The two pilots inside seemed to be in an argument. A high, somewhat shrill female voice sounded through the communications.

"I'm telling you Rhodey, I saw something! It flew right by us, and it wasn't another plane! We HAVE to see what it was!"

The other, who had to be Rhodey, sighed and said, "It was probably a bush or something, Pepper! Wind trash! Who would be crazy enough to be out in this weather? Other than us, I mean." His voice was calm, yet held a testy edge to it; it was apparent that they had been debating their topic for quite a while.

"That's not the point! I know I saw something, and it wasn't a bush! It was really spiky, with two HUGE wings, and whatever it was, didn't fly very well." The one called Pepper retorted.

"Pepper, I-" Rhodey started, but she was on a roll, bringing up every detail of the thing she had-supposedly-seen.

"I think it was some kind of animal. Its flight path was crooked, and it seemed to be wobbling a bit. One of its legs was hanging down, and something was dripping from it-probably blood. What's more, it's no bigger than us! If it really is hostile, we could easily gun it down, if necessary. But…" Her voice trailed off, and she began again.

"…But I think that whatever it is, it's hurt. If it is, we HAVE to help it, and-"

"Um, Pepper…" Rhodey said warningly, but she kept going.

"…besides, I have all this healing equipment, and no place to use it!"

"PEPPER!" he roared. "Port side! DIVE!"

"What-OH SNAP!" She shrieked, and threw her plane into a sharp plummet, and Rhodey did likewise. By doing so, they just barely missed being hit from behind by an enormous Lockheed sr-71 blackbird, a large metal net streaming out from behind it.

Pulling up put of their dives, and pulling their planes to a hover, they stared at the huge aircraft that had just barely missed them.

"What was THAT?" Rhodey asked, but Pepper was silent. "Um, Pepper? You there? Hello? Pepper! WAKE UP!" he shouted, and was immediately answered by her loud and angry voice.

"I AM awake! Rhodey, did you see the letters written on the side of that Blackbird?"

"No, what-"

"They were M.R.D. I think they found us!" Rhodey's eyes widened.

"No!" he whispered in horror. He and Pepper watched the M.R.D.' giant plane anxiously, but it didn't make any sign that it was after them. It continued forward, unfurling several packs of missiles from its wings.

"I…don't think it's after US, it's after what I saw! What I saw must be another mutant! And that means…"

"It means we're going in!" Rhodey finished grimly. They nodded, hit the "SPEED BOOST" button, and rocketed off towards the M.R.D.'s plane, readying their heavy artillery of weapons.


	2. The Dragon's Flight

**Thanks to you all for reading and reviewing on the first chapter! I'm so glad you guys liked it so much! :D thanks especially to Finny-Kun Goddess for the FIRST review, Cindylou30 for rambling on, (XD) and SilverPedals1402 for being excited! **

**Let's go!**

**Chapter 2, "The Dragon's Flight."**

The brutal winds and merciless ice shards paid no heed to his agony, relentlessly throwing their fury at him. He had been flying for three hours straight, battling the gale that threatened to tear his fragile wings apart, and he was beyond exhausted. His weak muscles strained to move, and trembled with fatigue every moment, only prolonging the sheer agony in his body. Each breath he took was ragged and shallow, and made his lungs scream in pain as if they were filled with shards of glass. His right leg dangled uselessly underneath him, blood flowing steadily from the wound above his knee.

Every time he beat his ragged wings, a fresh stab of pain assaulted his chest. He had been stabbed several times, and deeply. Blood was pouring from the many gashes. What had wounded him so seriously?

He couldn't remember clearly, couldn't think over the agony. His mind was in a complete fog; only one thought rang through his addled mind…

_(Away…I…have to…get away...)_ But he couldn't remember…away from what? As he strained his mind to recall what had injured him, he flinched, feeling his wings grow numb.

The dragon shook his spiky head, trying to clear it of the horrors that he had been in. He swept his sapphire blue eyes over the forest below, looking desperately for some place to land, but there was none. His heart sank. His wings were failing, the little energy he had to begin with was now completely spent. He dropped down a little, searching for some small opening in the dense trees where he could shelter.

While he was busy scanning the forest, a large, black aircraft with the letters M.R.D. sprawled on the side crept up on him. Its engines were silent, gliding through the air like a gigantic bird of prey. Suddenly, with a great burst of speed, it launched forward and sprang a thick, heavy metal net over the dragon, ensnaring him completely, then powered forward and speed away with its prize.

He screeched and fought with the primal instincts of the dragon he was, biting and tearing at the net with his sharp teeth and deadly talons, but the metal held firm.

He had been caught.


	3. To Rescue a Dragon

**Well, this time I'll be short and to the point. :) thanks go to everyone who added HH to their story alert/subscription lists! You all rock! Personal thanks-yous:**

**Marvel789-Thanks! :)**

**UltraRed55-Thank you! And that sounds fun, I'll check it out!**

**CindyLou30-NOO! We can't lose you! I'm updating right now, so hang on there!**

**SilverPedals1402-Don't worry about it! :) I hope your computer's all better soon, that can be REEEALY annoying!**

**Finny-Kun Goddess-You're right, the M.R.D. are just plain EVIL!**

***Whew* that's everybody! Thanks everyone, for reviewing!**

**NOTE: Bad word in this chapter! Fair warning!**

**Chapter 3, "To Rescue a Dragon."**

Pepper gasped as she and Rhodey circled the M.R.D.'s Blackbird with their smaller planes, set in "CLOAKING" mode. They were invisible to all but themselves.

"What happened, Pepper?"

"It's…a…a dragon! The thing the M.R.D.'s after is a dragon! And they just caught it!" Now it was Rhodey's turn to gasp.

"A dragon! I thought they were extinct! Nobody's seen them in hundreds of years!"

"Well, we're seeing one now!" She replied grimly, thrusting her plane forward, towards the M.R.D. she narrowed her eyes, trying to think of a plan. The M.R.D.'s Lockheed sr-71 Blackbird was ridiculously large, equipped with all sorts of nasty weapons, powerful enough to take out a tank. She and Rhodey, on the other hand, were in two small biplanes, with guns that could do little more than dent the M.R.D.'s plane. The odds weren't good.

Then again, their planes were smaller, and much more maneuverable than the large, heavy bulk of the Blackbird.

(If we could just cut the dragon free, if we could do it fast enough, maybe we'd have some time to get away before they attack!) It was a crazy plan, of course, but they had no other choice. She explained her plan to Rhodey, who immediately agreed.

"Wait, Rhodey! One plane is less of a target than two, so you should get into mine. That way, they'd be less likely to hit us if they attack in time."

"YOUR plane? What's wrong with mine?"

"Because mine is cooler. Don't argue." Grumbling, Rhodey obeyed, pulling his plane right next to hers and clambering in. he tapped a small seam in the wing of his plane, causing it to fold into a large backpack, heavy despite the anti-gravity servos installed in it. He hauled it into Pepper's plane, and set it down next to him in the passenger's seat.

**~Meanwhile~**

"If you don't stop it right now, dragon, you're going to be in a world of pain!" a scarecrow-thin, scarred, brown haired and angry-looking man shouted at the dragon as he continued to struggle. The dragon paused for a moment, looked up, and gave the man a withering, disdainful stare.

_(A world of pain? As if I'm not in one already!)_ The man, triggered by the utter contempt in the dragon's eyes, growled and took out a black remote and pressed the sole button on it. Immediately, red tendrils of electricity arched through the net, electrocuting the dragon. He let out a howl of pain as the cruel man laughed at his anguish.

"There'll be more from where that came from unless you stop trying to get away. There's NO escape from us." He sneered, stopping the electricity and walking back inside the plane. The dragon growled, as if to say _yeah, I'll give up when hell freezes over!_

Quite suddenly, Pepper and Rhode's small biplane shimmered into sight right next to him. The cockpit opened and a girl with fiery red hair leaned out and held a finger to her lips, telling him to be quiet as he stared at her with wide, unblinking eyes.

"Don't worry, dragon, we're gonna get you out of this! Just wait, and when you're free, follow us!" She ordered. He narrowed his eyes, not believing her, and said, "How can I be sure I can trust you?" Then, something strange happened. She put a finger to her temple, and stared at him intently. And he heard a voice in his mind, a voice that wasn't his.

(_You can trust us because we're mutants, just like you. Please_!) His eyes widened as he thought, (_You-you're a mutant too? How'd you know about me?)_

_(There'll be time for that later, just hold still and follow our plane!)_ At that, he fell silent, but not just because she told him to. His keen dragon's vision was fading in and out of focus, and the wounds he suffered were finally taking him over. He squinted to be able to make out the plane from which the girl was in. It had a large saw blade protruding from its underside, and in one swift movement lurched forward and cut the metal net easily in half.

Several things happened at once. The man who had tortured the dragon earlier rushed out to see what had happened. The dragon immediately fell down, and he painfully spread his wings once more to fly away. When the man saw the dragon, flying free, he let out an angry yell and dashed back inside. As soon as he did, alarms blared, lights flashed, and the Blackbird veered to the right and turned around, unfolding many, many deadly weapons.

The dragon and the plane flew side by side, narrowly avoiding the M.R.D.'s searchlights. Pepper opened the cockpit and shouted, "Quick, dragon, get in! You'll be safe in here!" But he barely heard her over his own labored breathing. His wings just wouldn't work anymore, having been torn up in the unyielding winds. Pepper tried to reach out and grab his wings to help him into the plane, but he was just out of reach.

"Rhodey!" she shouted over the roar of the wind. "Take the wheel!" and as fast as they could, she and Rhodey switched places.  
"Dragon! Come closer!" he turned his head and looked at her, and for a moment their eyes met, auburn brown meeting glowing cobalt blue, but then his eyes closed and he let out a screech of pain and glided down, rapidly losing altitude.

_(I…I can't! Too…tired…The p- pain…is too much…energy…gone…I-I'm going to…fall!)_ She heard him think. In total desperation, she stuck half her body out of the plane and lunged out once, twice, and with that final third time she grabbed the tip of his wings, hauling him inside. He was a lot lighter than she expected. She yelled, "Close the cockpit!" and it did likewise, protecting them all from the brutal rage of the sky and storm.


	4. Tony Stark

**MAN, it's been so long since I've updated! :( I'm sorry everyone, my family and I were up in Michigan for the fourth (and the whole week!) and there's no computer there. -_- But we got to see The Amazing Spider-Man, so it was all good! Anybody else seen it yet? Anyhow, I'm gonna post chapter 4 AND 5 at one time, since this one was used in the preview I posted on Iron Heart. Soo, thank-yous go to-**

**Alice. Dreamer 15 (Yes, I know they're different, it's just that the beginnings are sort of the same. (Tony gets hurt.) )**

**CindyLou30 (Lol, thanks! You're way awesomer though. ;) )**

**ForestCreeper (I love them too! :D )**

**Guest (Yep! Pepper's like Charles Xavier, just not as strong as him yet.) **

**Also, thanks to everyone who added HH to their story subscription lists and favorites!**

**Now let's get on with it!**

**(I don't own IMAA…yet. Mwahahaa!)**

**Chapter 4 "Tony Stark".**

Pepper pulled the dragon into her plane and laid him down in the space behind the two seats. She sighed with relief and knelt down next to him, inspecting his wounds. He raised his head weakly and looked up at her, but then moaned in pain and let his head fall back down. And in that moment, something that was quite out of the ordinary occurred. A light glowed from somewhere within the dragon's chest, and it expanded, encasing him in an ice-blue sphere of light, and as quickly as it had come it melted away, and where the dragon had lain there now was a boy.

He looked about sixteen, with unruly, long dark brown hair, ragged blue jeans, and an equally tattered red shirt. His shirt was soaked in blood, and so was his knee. Pepper and Rhodey gasped at the transformation. It had happened so fast.

The boy coughed a bit and opened his eyes; they were the same glowing electric blue as the dragon's. Pepper leaned forward nervously.

"Don't worry, you're safe here. My name is Pepper, and this is Rhodey." She said, hoping she sounded reassuring.

"Y…you're mutants too?" he asked weakly. Pepper nodded, smiling a little bit. But then her smile faded and was replaced with worry. As she watched, he was growing weaker. His chest heaved with each breath, and his breathing sounded awful. He took a shuddering breath, winced again in pain, and said, "Th…Thanks for…rescuing me..." and with that, he closed his eyes and let his head fall back, his pained twitching grew still.

"Wait! What's your name?" Pepper asked frantically. When he didn't respond, she began to panic. He was mortally injured, -he was dying as she watched!-and all their supplies were in a cave, hidden in the forest floor. They wouldn't be there for a while yet. But then, the boy said in a faint whisper, "My name is Tony Stark."


	5. Healing

**Chapter 5, "Healing"**

"Rhodey, how soon can we get to the cave?" she asked worriedly, seeing that Tony's condition was near fatal.

"In a few moments!" came his answer, and true to his word, she felt the plane begin to descend, and within a minute, bump lightly as they landed on the water-soaked ground. The thick trees of Verdantia provided adequate shelter from the raging winds and ice.

"Quick, we need to get him out of there!" Pepper was already on it, struggling to lift Tony from the backseat of the plane. Rhodey hurried over to help, and soon, they laid him down in a makeshift cot, inside their underground safe house.

Pepper immediately grabbed a white bag with a red cross on it and knelt down next to Tony, pulling out a small jar filled with an emerald-green substance with the consistency of honey, a large white towel, several rolls of gauze, and bandage tape, and set to work, using her years of medical school experience in treating injuries.

She first started on his leg, since it wouldn't take too long, and she was nervous about the obviously larger wounds on his chest. She opened the green ointment and, after mopping up the blood with the towel, smeared the wound with it, and bandaged his knee. She then bent down close to him, running her hands along his sodden and tattered shirt. It felt wet. She and Rhodey tugged it off, and when they did, Pepper's stomach took a plummet.

His chest was covered with half dried blood and his pale skin was laced with many deep dagger wounds and gashes, all of them bleeding profusely. It looked like someone had either run him over with a lawnmower or stabbed him repeatedly. Pepper guessed it was the second. Rhodey's eyes widened, looking like they were popping out of his head.

"…Oh, man. How can he still be alive? _Is_ he still alive?"  
"Good question." Pepper said, her voice trembling, and she grabbed the towel and folded it into a neat square, and, arms trembling, pressed it down onto him, putting pressure on his chest to stop the intense bleeding.

After a little while she lifted it up, and felt relief as well as dread. Most of the blood was gone and he had stopped bleeding, but the towel was soaked. She could see clearly the deep gashes that he had suffered. One in particular was larger than the others, but what was really strange about it though, Pepper thought, was that it was right where his heart was, a little to the left from his sternum. It was deep enough to have pierced right through his heart, and yet if it did, then why was he still alive?

(_That dagger wound is deep enough to have skewered his heart right through…so why is he still alive?_)

She abandoned those thoughts for later, though, and focused on treating his injuries.

And so she did.


	6. Painful Memories

**Howdy everyone! Just a couple of things before I get started-recently, my grandparents have been unable to go to their second house in Michigan, up by Great Bear Lake. We'd sometimes go and take care of the house, so that it doesn't get all nasty and stuff, but we're going to be going quite often for several days at a time. I'm leaving this Monday (Tomorrow! ), and I'll be back maybe Friday. We'll be working on things there, making the lawn look all nice, getting the musty smell out, raking the lake seaweed, etc. Just thought you guys should all know!**

**Thank yous-**

**Alice. Dreamer 15-Awesome!**

**Finny-Kun Goddess-thanks!**

**Cindylou30-It was awesome! DEFINETELY cool! And YAY! Good for you! Just remember…with great power, comes great need to eat bacon. :)**

**Chapter 6, "Painful Memories"**

"Done!" Pepper announced. "I still need to bandage him, though." Rhodey came over and admired her work. All of the blood was gone, and the gashes were nicely cleaned. Tony's harsh breathing had evened out; it no longer seemed to ravage his throat, though his skin was chalk-white from losing so much of his life's blood. Pepper got up and walked over to a pot simmering on an open fire and poured its contents into a cup after adding several white leaves.

"What's that?" Rhodey asked, wrinkling his nose at its rank smell.

"An herbal draft. It'll help him heal faster." She said matter-of-factly. She then knelt down next to Tony and put her hand behind his head, lifting it up a bit, and gently trickled some of the warm liquid into his mouth. When he coughed and sputtered, choking on the unexpected drink, Pepper spoke to him gently with her mind.

_(Swallow. It'll do you good.)_ Obeying her, with difficulty he swallowed, and the fits of coughing subsided. He took a shuddering breath and slowly his eyes fluttered open.

"You're awake!" Pepper exclaimed. "Aghh…I think so…" Tony said faintly, as the room he was in started to swirl.

"Here, have a little more, it'll help." She said, offering him the cup of cream-colored fluid. He did, and slowly his vision came into sharper focus. The first thing he noticed were the many ugly slashes on his chest, smeared with green and very deep. Pepper noticed his alarm, and spoke to him in soft, reassuring tones.

"Don't worry; you'll be fine once you get a little rest, and once I bandage them. You're safe here."

"Thank you." He gave her and Rhodey a grateful smile, and attempted to rise, wincing as pain shot through his body. With Rhodey's help, he managed to sit up, leaning his back against the wall.

"What happened, exactly?" Tony asked, his voice a little hoarse.

"Well, you were flying, and you were caught by the M.R.D…" Pepper began.  
"And so Rhodey and I got you free. But then you started to fall, and I pulled you inside the plane. After that…well, Rhodey landed the plane and we brought you here…"

"…And Pepper treated your wounds." Rhodey finished.

"Hey, how DID you get hurt in the first place?" Pepper asked, but immediately she sensed she had asked a bad question, because Tony suddenly tensed. He looked away, but Rhodey and Pepper could see the anguish in his eyes. He couldn't stop the memory of that awful attack from coming into his mind, no matter how hard he tried.

Now, if you haven't guessed already, Pepper is a telepath, just like Charles Xavier. She can see into your memories, hear your thoughts, and speak to you through your mind, and force you to do her will. And so, when Tony flinched and looked away, she put two fingers to her temple and entered his mind, and at the same time projecting her thoughts into Rhodey's mind so he could see as well.

(_It was raining…water pouring down from the heavens in torrents…and a lone dragon was racing through the streets of a small village, pursued by a mob. He was running…down the stone-paved road, bolting past alleyways and not daring to hesitate at a crossroad, for fear that they would catch him…he was running away from the mob of angry villagers, wielding pitchforks and sickles, the only weapons they owned. One peasant, particularly angry-looking, carried a short dagger and a scythe, whose tip bore a bloodstain. Another held a taut bow and a quiver full of arrows across his back._

_The dragon slipped in a puddle and fell down, hard. Rising to his knees and spitting out a chunk of dirt, he looked back in alarm, the mob was nearly upon him! He sprang to his feet, wincing as his leg's wound sent a wave of pain up his thigh, and kept running. The mob behind him jeered and threw stones at him as he ran away. He couldn't keep this up much longer; he was weakening; losing blood and hope. Turning at a crossroad, he screeched in alarm and abruptly stopped running._

_He had reached a dead end._

_The dragon tried despairingly to climb the wall to freedom, but the rain made the stones slippery and it was impossible to get a grip on them, even with his sharp talons. He screeched again, in terror, his glowing blue eyes wide open as the mob marched up behind him, closing him in…the one with the dagger and scythe approached…a mad gleam in his evil black eyes…he lashed out with one hand, closing his fist around the dragon's scaly neck, and pinned him to the wall. He laughed in a mad glee and raised his dagger…a voice came to him as his vision was fading through the pain and terror…"_At last, vile demon, you shall meet your end! You shall no longer steal from us, our homes, our village!" _The dragon, knowing what was about to happen,, opened his eyes and stared pleadingly into the eyes of the man who was pinning him to the wall, and desperately croaked, "_No…please!...let…me go…I won't…bother you…again!"_ the man laughed, causing the mob to do the same. His laugh was something awful, harsh and cruel without humor or joy._

"Let you go?" _he repeated, a snarl embedded in his voice. _"I don't think so, dragon!"

_He shouted, to the roaring approval of the crowd behind him. He raised his dagger, to strike, to stab, to kill…_)

Tony cried out in pain, jarring the three of them back into reality, and drew his knees close to his body, ignoring the pain that went up his torso, his face white with shock. The memory was so real, and so vivid. It was as if he could feel once more the frigid air, the pounding rain, the agony…he could still hear the sniping taunts of the crowd he had fled…the numbness of the freezing air…the world started to swirl into a haze…

It was all too much. The vision of that man about to stab him filled his head, and when the man struck, Tony passed out, his consciousness fading into black, into nothing.


	7. Tony's History

**NEEEEEW CHAPTERR! FINALLY! Geez, it's taken me so long to edit and revise this chapter, I'm sorry! But here it is now, and I'd like to thank Finny-Kun Goddess for reviewing the previous chapter! Thank you so much! :) **

**Chapter 7, "Tony's History"**

As the room slowly came into focus, there was a low whispering of voices in the dim confines of the cave…Tony could barely make out what they were saying…

"…should apologize, Pepper! You can't just enter people's minds and look into their memories! It totally invades their privacy!"

"I told you, it wasn't _really_ a memory! It was just what he was thinking of at the moment!" The slightly shrill female voice paused.

"...But, you're right, I should apologize. Once he wakes up I will."

"It's bound to take a while, he was hurt pretty badly and is still weak, and I can't blame him, after that nasty-smelling drink you gave him!" He teased, nimbly avoiding a punch Pepper aimed at his arm.

"It was a healing brew!" She exclaimed indignantly.

"That's not exactly what it smelled like." He replied evenly. Pepper was about to make a sharp retort, when she noticed that Tony was awake, and watching them argue with some amusement. At Rhodey's meaningful nod, she said, "Tony…I'm sorry for reading your mind. I only wanted to see what was happening, but that doesn't make it fine. I won't read your mind again unless you say it's Ok." Tony blinked, surprised at the sudden apology.

"It's all right, Pepper. Don't apologize…" There was a silence among the three of them, broken only by the thunder and rain, sounding like it was a hundred miles away.

"Tony…" Pepper hesitated. "There's so much that Rhodey and I don't know about you. Where you're from, who you're family is, why you were out there in the storm…I don't mean to pry, but can you tell us a little about yourself?"

Tony nodded. He sensed he could trust them.

"Ever since I was ten, I've been on the run. I had to steal food and move constantly to avoid the M.R.D., who were always hunting me. I had to steal whatever I needed, but up till now, I've never been caught. I would just go into stores, or food stands, and take whatever I needed."

"But why were you homeless? I mean, the M.R.D. has a law about not harming mutants if they're with their family." Pepper interrupted. Tony grimaced.

"I…don't really have one anymore."

He hesitated. The truth was, he really didn't know what happened to them. He suspected they had been murdered, but why, and by whom? He never had any answers. It was as if someone had taken an eraser to his whole past life and got rid of everything Tony knew about who he was, where he came from, and what happened to his family-if he had one.

Rhodey frowned. "You don't have a family? What happened?" He asked. Tony looked at him desperately.

"I don't know. I can't remember anything about them. I'm sorry, what I told you guys just now is all I can remember. It's all I've ever known." he said sadly. Pepper sighed, but she sounded more perplexed than saddened.

"What would happen to you to make you lose your memory? That's really strange." She commented. "Yeah, it is." Rhodey agreed. "I bet there's someone out there who could help-" Pepper suddenly let out a sharp squeal. Rhodey looked at her in annoyance while Tony covered his ears.

"What was that for?" Rhodey hissed at her. She blushed, but then went on. "Sorry guys, I just got a GREAT idea! What if we went to Charles Xavier's school? He's a telepath, like me, only stronger! If there's anyone who's used to brain/mind problems, it's him. Why don't we go there, and ask him for help?" she spoke quickly and excitedly. Tony and Rhodey looked at each other and shrugged.

"It seems like a good idea, but…Tony's still hurt. We won't be able to travel for a while yet." Rhodey pointed out.

"Well, dragons heal really fast, like 3 times as fast as a normal human. I've been hurt just like this before, and without any 'healing concoctions', I was completely fine in about a week." Tony told them. He went on, "The only problem is that the M.R.D. can track us on radar, but in a forest this big, it would take about a week for them to find us. As soon as my wings and chest are healed, I can fly next to you guys in your planes." Tony suggested. Rhodey and Pepper thought about it for a moment.

"In other words, the M.R.D. soldiers are hunting us down as we speak. They might not find us for about a week, which is when Tony _might_ be healed enough to escape with us. We're going to a School for Mutants led by a super-powerful telepathic professor who _might_ be able to help Tony get his memory back." Rhodey grumbled. "Fun."

"Would you rather fly around in your pretty little biplane and take on that huge battleship by yourself?" Pepper asked him lightly. Rhodey didn't answer. She and Tony grinned.

"I thought so."

**R&R pwease? =3**


	8. The Cave, Continued

**Hey guys! Thanks for the awesome reviews you gave me! They all really cheered me up! You guys rock so much, thank you all! This chapter's kinda boring, so I'll try to update asap to make some more interesting things happen. Hunted Hero is a lot of story, but I promise you there'll be some action soon!**

**Finny-Kun Goddess-Thank you! I hope it seems interesting, but this chapter may not be very much. We'll see. :)**

**CindyLou30-Aww, but if you arrest me, I won't be able to answer you awesome PM! :'( Lol, thanks SOO much!**

**PercyJacksonLover14-hahaha, you make me laugh a lot! (Would that be lal?) and don't forget, you have to update as well! :P**

**SilverPedals14-aw, I hope you feel better soon! Thanks so much for reviewing anyway, it's always appreciated! :)**

**Alice. Dreamer 15-Thank you! I will.**

**~STORY STORY STORY~**

**Oh, and in case anyone here hasn't heard of it, PercyJacksonLover14 has made a REALLY awesome Danny Phantom fanfic called Taken Over! If anyone here likes Danny Phantom and hasn't read it yet, YOU SHOULD!**

**Chapter 8 "The Cave, Continued."**

A few days had passed since Rhodey and Pepper had rescued Tony, and the three became fast friends, trusting each other completely. The tension in the cave, however, grew worse every day as the constant threat of the M.R.D. finding them loomed over their thoughts. The rain refused to let up, confining them, infuriatingly, in the small confines of the cave.

Pepper groaned. "When is this rain going to _stop?!_" she muttered angrily. Tony and Rhodey, who were playing checkers with small, colored berries they had found just outside of the cave, looked over tiredly.

"Pepper, that's the third time you've asked that this day." Rhodey reprimanded.

"Yeah, it's no use complaining about what you can't change." Tony pointed out. Pepper huffed. "Yeah, well, it's been 3 days now! (Including the night they found Tony) I bet when we open that door, we're gonna be drenched in a huge waterfall. Good thing it's watertight."

The two said nothing and continued their game. Tony moved a round, red berry two spaces and jumped Rhodey's blue berry. He grinned and popped it in his mouth.

"Yum."

"Hey, that's not fair! You can't eat my blueberries!"

"Sorry to tell ya, I just did."

"Tony, don't waste our berries." Pepper scolded.

"Hey, I'm hungry!"

"You're always hungry."

"Pep, I haven't eaten anything since you and Rhodey gave me that sick stuff the other day."

Pepper gritted her teeth.

"IT-WAS-A-HEALING-DRINK!" she nearly shouted.

"Hey, you two, calm down." Rhodey intervened. "We're all just sick and tired of this rain. And Pepper, I'm hungry too. Let's get the rations, it's about lunchtime anyway." He and Pepper then got up and walked over to the big bag that held their dry food. Tony struggled to rise, wincing as he put weight on his bad leg. The cuts in his chest flared up in pain. Pepper noticed and quickly said, "Tony, stop, you don't have to get up. It's bad for you anyway, 'cause if those wounds open up again, it'll take longer to heal. And then the M.R.D. will find us sooner!"

"Don't want that." Tony sighed as he leaned back up against the cold stone wall. "All the same, I can't wait until I can move around again. This sucks."

He truly thought it did. His two best friends-the first ones he'd had in years-were here, taking care of them and risking all their lives by waiting for his stupid injuries to heal. He hated feeling inferior, being his slightly arrogant self, and he hated being as helpless as he was now. He wished he could be out in that rain, flying on his enormous dragon wings and being so high in the cold air that he could hardly see anything in the world below. Pepper smiled sympathetically, wresting a bag of beef jerky from Rhodey and handing it to Tony. He took a few pieces and gave it back to Pepper. The three ate the tough strips of dried beef, cold Lucky Charms, and water for lunch. It didn't do much to boost their spirits.

"So," Tony said, munching on a marshmallow rainbow. "What happened to you two to wind up here? I mean, how did you both, like, meet?" Rhodey and Pepper exchanged glances and shrugged. "Rhodey, you go first." Pepper suggested. He nodded.

"Alright. So, backing up a bit, I was raised in an orphanage with other kids. They were all human though, and I could tell they hated me. Always left me alone, talked about me behind my back, etc. Once I was 10, I got the message that they didn't want me, so I ran away. After that, I…well…just kinda stayed on the streets. I learned how to steal things, and eventually I found a warehouse. That place became my new home, and I never left until I found those two airplanes."

"You found the planes in the warehouse?" Tony interrupted. Rhodey nodded.

"Then how did Pepper get one?" Tony asked.

"Pepper, why don't you take it from here." Rhodey suggested.

"My dad worked as an F.B.I. agent," She began excitedly.

"He had powers too; he could turn invisible and walk through walls, so he was a special agent. They really needed him, but he and were planning on going to Charles Xavier's school. The told him he could go, but after one last mission. He agreed to it…and told me I had to go to the school alone." She sniffed.

"So I went out, heading to the airport to fly to Brooklyn, but I got mugged. They stole my ticket, and my money, and everything but my breath mints!" she said in outrage. Tony frowned and muttered something about gangs. "Anyway, so then I met Rhodey in his warehouse-house and he agreed to let me have one of his planes. Then…well, we were flying and found you." She finished.

Tony nodded, silently taking it all in. A mutant working in the F.B.I.? Sure, why not. But he mostly wondered where the two planes had come from. They were obviously highly advanced, having so many weapons and high-tech devices. He had had no chance to examine them for any telltale signs of its previous owner, what with the ridiculous amount of rain and all. Somehow, he knew a lot about technology. He could remember inventing hundreds of things, but -of course- not where or when.

They passed the rest of the long hours playing berry checkers and other games. Rhodey found a deck of cards in the rations bag, but when they played poker, Tony won everybody's berries, which they substituted for actual money.

Pepper grumbled, "I'm going to use my telepathy to see what cards you guys have if I lose one more round of this!"

The day rolled on, the rain continued it relentless assault. When Pepper checked Tony's wounds before bed, they were mere cuts. Nothing like the gaping, bloody lacerations they were a few days ago. Pepper smiled. "You should be fine by the day after tomorrow, maybe less!" she chirped. "But there's probably some internal bruising, so for tomorrow…"

"I can't move around, I can't strain myself, I can't go outside even if it's nice." Tony finished unhappily. She nodded sadly. "It's best you just lay low for a while." She told him before heading off to her sleeping bag. He rolled over, attempting to sleep, but something kept him awake. It wasn't pain, that was thankfully over. It was wondering what Charles Xavier's school would be like-if they made it. Now, as he thought on it more, the chances of them succeeding to get there before the M.R.D. found out were slim. They had radar that could track mutants down, powerful guns that could either kill, stun, or main a victim, hundreds of the most highly-trained humans in the world, not to mention their huge trucks loaded with weapons and other nasty toys. He had no idea what they might be up against, but he knew they would have to be ready.


	9. Take Off at Last

**Finny-Kun Goddess-thanks for the review! This one's a bit boring, too -_- but the next one has got some ACTION! :P hope you like it!**

**CindyLou30-Wow, thanks so much! :D I'm glad you liked it! *Whew***

**Silverpedals1402-Thank you!**

**percyJacksonLover14-Cool, thank you! I'm glad you don't think its too boring.**

**UltraRed55-Hahaha, thanks!**

**Chapter 9, "Take Off At Last"**

**~Friday~**

"YES!" Tony shouted with glee as Pepper examined the scars that were once wounds, and pronounced him perfectly healed. Rhodey grinned at his normally quiet friend's exuberance. "We'll be able to leave tonight!" He said happily. Tony jumped up, put his tattered shirt back on, and raced outside. Pepper and Rhodey exchanged grins and followed. The three raced through the forest until they came to a large clearing. Tony stood in the middle of it, looking up at the blue piece of sky that shone through the trees overhead. a knot of anticipation formed in his stomach. After a whole week of no flying, lying around a dark cave and in pain, he was finally going to fly. He took a deep breath. _(here goes,) _he thought excitedly, and with the usual sphere of light, his body became that of a dragon's.

He was alarmingly thin, about one full head taller than Pepper, and eye level with Rhodey. His scales were the deepest midnight black, with ultramarine blue edges that gleamed sapphire in the sunlight. Numerous plates of thick, round scales-they were completely blue-ran down his underside, from neck to his bony hips. A line of sharp spikes, the same color as the edges of his scales, ran down his back from head to tail, which ended in a deadly arrowhead point. His wings were the same blue as his scales, with crisscrossing black veins running through the thick membrane, going all the way up to the five clawed fingers at the tips of his wings.

His two legs were long and strong-looking, with razor sharp talons on rather large feet. He had four toes on each foot, three in front and one behind, which could grip with massive force. His eyes glowed blue with power, with a glint of mischief as well, and his mouth curved into a smile, even when he wasn't smiling, with several sharp teeth protruding up and down from his mouth. His velvet-soft ears stuck out slightly from his head, giving him an almost elfish look. The bright light of the sun cast down upon him as he transformed, and the ultramarine edges of his scales gleamed and cast a number of spots onto the grassy ground, while the black deepened.

Tony spread his enormous wings, launched himself from the mossy ground and up, up into the sky through a clearing in the leafy canopy. For a few moments, Pepper and Rhodey saw nothing, waiting anxiously. Then they heard a massive roar cut through the forest and Tony flew back through the opening and turned, weaving intricately through the thick trees with incredible precision. They watched him fly around for a while, and they couldn't help but laugh, enjoying his air dancing. The dragon flew up, higher and higher until he was above the clouds, and then dove straight down, aiming for that one spot where the trees broke and he could see his friends watching in awe. Down, down he dove, flying so fast that everything around him became a blur. He landed a second later with a loud _POOMF _noise, making Pepper and Rhodey jump. He grinned, displaying a row of sharp teeth.

_(Now THAT was flying!_)

**~That night~**

Pepper, Rhodey, and Tony stood on a rocky outcropping at the edge of the forest, watching the streaks of fiery color flash across the sky as the sun slowly dipped below the horizon.

"Tome to go." Tony said softly with his eyes fixed on the sky. The three of them watched the last few glowing ribbons of blazing color dissolve as the purple, navy blue, and dim green hues of twilight came upon the forest. Pepper and Rhodey got into their planes, waiting right beside them and loaded with supplies for the long journey. The engines rumbled and started up, and they took off. Tony spread his wings and leapt off the cliff, letting the warm breeze catch his body and propel him forward. They were on their way.

**Okay, I'm sorry that was short and uneventful, but at least the next chapter will be better. I'm kinda under a lot of stress right now with school starting up, brothers demanding the computer 24/7 but mainly, two of my best friends hate each other. So yeah, I hope to have the next chapter posted as soon as this ridiculous drama cools down. -_- until then, peace and baked carpets for everyone! =3**


	10. Ambushed

**Thanks everyone, for your kind reviews! Shout-outs go to:**

**PercyJacksonLover14: :D Thank you so much! I love the colour combination of the deepest shade of black, and a bright, deep, icy blue! :) Glad you liked it!**

**SilverPedals1402: Sorry to hear that :'( I'll be praying for them and you! Thanks for reviewing anyway!**

**Finny-Kun Goddess: Thanks! :)**

**Chapter 10 "Ambushed"**

"How's it going, Tony?" Pepper shouted over the roar of the wind. The black dragon flying alongside her turned his head and grinned, displaying rows of sharp teeth.

_(Going awesome, Pepper!)_ He spoke to directly to her mind. She had found out that, in dragon form, Tony could still talk with his mouth, (although his voice took a slight growl to it when he did) but preferred to speak telepathically to her and Rhodey. Tony had had even worked out a deal with Pepper: she doesn't try to read his memories, and he would allow her to hear his thoughts, and the same applied to Rhodey.

She grinned back at him and looked over at Rhodey, who was going a little green. _(Um, Rhodey, you ok?)_ Tony asked. He nodded, staring straight ahead. _(Fine, just a little airsick, I guess._) He replied. Pepper and Tony cracked a smile.

_(You of all people! Rhodey, you're the one who took these planes in the first place!)_ She and Tony laughed, while Rhodey's face went from green to red, but he allowed himself a chuckle.

_(So, Tony, how's flying? what's it like?)_ Pepper asked casually. Tony's eyes closed: flying felt so good. The wind felt like a cushion of air underneath him, so soft, and the rush of cold air left a delightful tingling sensation in his wings. Everything in the mountainous land below was so far away, the trees were like ants, vast fields of grass seemed only inches long, and even with his keen dragon eyes, the humans and animals seemed no more than mere specks of dust. (_it's amazing, Pep.)_

The three of them had been in the air, flying for at least two hours, and Tony wasn't the least bit tired. They had a tailwind, and that made flying (no pun intended) a breeze.

"Hey, Pepper, when are we going to break for lunch?" Rhodey inquired over the comm. systems. "I don't know, whenever, I guess." She replied. "Let's do it now, since these planes have a HUGE supply of food!" He said eagerly.

But, as they began to descend, Tony suddenly swerved to the left and just barely avoided a smoking projectile coming at him from behind.

"M.R.D.!" he screeched. And behind them, the huge Blackbird plane that had failed to catch Tony a week ago pulled up, loaded with machine guns, laser guided missiles, and other deadly toys. And, through the windshield, they could see the same angry, thin, grey-haired man who had captured and tortured Tony, smirking insolently.

Pepper cursed herself for letting them be ambushed so easily. She hadn't even bothered to check the radar, and now they were under attack! As if to prove that point, the M.R.D. plane opened several flaps on its wings, and launched a bunch of missiles, aimed at Pepper and Rhodey.

The aerial battle had begun.

Yanking the control sticks, Pepper and Rhodey expertly dodged the deadly explosives, only to have them turn around and keep going at them.

"Rhodey, I can't shake this thing!" Pepper said, panic rising in her voice.

_(You don't have to.)_ Tony said to both of them, and, flying close to the six missiles just behind his friend's planes, opened his mouth, roared, and from his mouth he loosed a jet of blue fire, only it seemed to be made of vapor. The blue frost coated the projectiles, and in less than two seconds, ice had crept over them all, they ceased to function, and fell down to the ground miles below. He closed his mouth and grinned, clear smoke rising from his nostrils.

_(I missed doing that.)_ He said, and the three of them banked to the right and circled around, facing the enormous Lockheed. Pepper and Rhodey activated the cloaking, and became invisible. Tony reached out and grabbed the tip of Rhodey's plane with his jaws, and he, too, vanished.

Inside the M.R.D. plane, the brown-haired man snickered and looked at the many buttons and levers on the control board that lay before him. He pushed a green one and pulled down the microphone lever, and as one of the guns targeted the three mutants, he shouted,

"Give it up! These guns will expose your position and destroy your silly little model airplanes! Come quietly, and you won't be hurt, I promise!" Unexpectedly, Tony's eyes flared with anger. Pepper sensed what he was about to do, and cried, "Tony, wait! NO!" but it was too late. He detached himself from Rhodey's plane and flew straight towards the enemy's huge aircraft, speeding ahead of them.

The evil man chuckled and slammed his fist down on the green button. Immediately, three green energy charges shot out of the Lockheed's guns. One collided with Tony's wings. He shrieked in pain and surprise and started to fall, his deep blue wings blackened and smoking. The other two headed straight for Pepper and Rhodey's planes, and before they could avoid the deadly green discs of energy, they hit, shooting green tendrils of electricity through the controls and forcing them to become visible again. "Gotcha!" He muttered, and seized the controls to the ship, steering it straight at the two small aircrafts, right onto a collision course.

Meanwhile, Tony was panicking. No matter how hard he flapped his wings, he couldn't ascend, and he kept losing altitude at a rapid rate. The thin membrane of his wings was torn and burned from the charges, and would not keep him aloft for much longer. (_No…)_ he was going to fail… _(NO…)_

"NOO!" He shouted suddenly, and as a surge of anger-fueled power overtook him, he launched himself straight towards the red windshield of the Blackbird, stuck out his talons, and crashed through it, plowing into the grey-haired man at the controls.

Snarling, the two tumbled across the hard steel floor, and when the man rolled over on top of him, Tony growled and dug his wing-claws into his enemy's right shoulder. Howling, he retreated, clutching his shoulder. Tony's claws hadn't dug too deep, but the wound was enough to enrage him. He grabbed a metal pipe that had NO business whatsoever lying on the ground in the control room, and swung clumsily at Tony, who easily sidestepped. Tony launched himself at the man, who swung the pipe, and caught Tony's legs, knocking him off balance. He surged at once to his feet, but the man had gotten the distraction he needed. He grabbed the ship's communication microphone, and shouted into it.

"This is General Stryker! Breach! There's been a breach at the main control station! All armed guards report here immediately, main control station, level A-1!" with his keen dragon hearing, Tony could make out the pounding of heavy boots against metal, the clanking of weapons being loaded, and the shouts of men ready for battle.

"You've lost, Tony!" The General snarled as the teen dragon slowly got to his feet. They began circling each other.

"Give up now, and I'll spare your pathetic friends." He gestured to the two planes, unable to move, thanks to the energy charges. "They'll live. You'll live. And, you'd be well taken care of, at the M.R.D.'s headquarters. You're a genius and a warrior, Tony; I've seen what you can do. We could really use a kid like you on our side. You can breathe frost and fire, you can generate energy shields to protect you. Heck, you can survive even the most brutal wounds that a regular human would die from, and yet you have only just begun to understand your abilities! With us, our resources, you could be so much more than a confused teen, no family and no friends; scorned and hated everywhere you go." Tony's eyes flared up once more as his enemy said this, and bared his sharp teeth threateningly, lowering himself to attack.

"First of all, I HAVE friends, second, you SERIOUSLY need breath mints, dude, and third, you can take your stupid offer and-" He then called the M.R.D. and the evil man such bad names; I wouldn't dare put them into this chapter. When he was through cursing, the man, completely enraged, recklessly hurled his pipe at Tony, who caught it neatly in his teeth, then promptly spat it out. (_ICK-metal does NOT taste good,) _He decided. He then growled low, deep in his throat, stalked forward and backed the man into a corner. His eyes gleamed with desperation as he tried one last time to convince Tony.

"What are you doing, Tony? With us, you could have so much! You wouldn't be mistreated, I'll personally see to that, and, given time to research, we could even fix your heart." Tony must not have concealed his shock very well, for the man laughed.

"What, you think we didn't know? Oh, Tony, we've been watching you for longer than you know. We know a lot about you, for example…" He paused dramatically, then continued with a smirk.

"…that your heart is weak and can't handle much more than-"

"STOP!" Tony roared, feeling his stomach do a flip-flop. (_How could he possibly know THAT much about me?)_ In his utter shock and rage, he hadn't noticed that the man had slowly reached towards the white backpacks that sat nearby. Suddenly he lunged and grabbed one, turned and smirked at Tony, said, "Oh, you'll join us, Tony, one way or the other! We'll meet again!" and with that, kicked the emergency door right off its hinges, and leaped outside of the plane. Immediately, a huge gust of wind tore at Tony, threatening to drag him out of the plane if he didn't hold on.

He had no time to wonder about the man, as the doors banged open and dozens of M.R.D. agents poured in, pointing their guns at Tony.

"Don't move!" one of them shouted. "Put your hands-er, wings-in the air and get back against the wall! NOW!"

"Can I have a PLEASE, Mr. Bossy?" Tony muttered, but then grinned.

This was going to be fun.

And for the next few minutes, Tony battled the M.R.D. agents, not actually killing them, of course, but rather knocking them unconscious, and soon he was done. The bodies of dozens of men littered the floor, and Tony had barely been hurt. A few scratches on his legs, a bruise on his knee from a rather fat warrior, and a large cut running from his eye to his cheek, and that was it. But wait…that _wasn't _it! He suddenly remembered his two friends, and ran to the windshield to see where they were, praying that they hadn't been hit.

They hadn't crashed yet, but the Lockheed was several yards away from one.

Tony yanked the control stick, and the ship tilted sharply to the left, avoiding Pepper and Rhodey's planes by just a few feet. Staggering to his feet on the dangerously tilted floor, he hit the green button that had released the energy charges, and as he did so, Pepper and Rhodey's planes came free of their paralysis, and with renewed vigor they sped straight for the Blackbird.

Tony watched them approach, and as he did, he failed to notice the large metal shelf that was sliding towards him. It made a loud BANG as it stopped sliding and tilted towards Tony, and then fell straight towards him. He yelped and tried to get out of the way, but he was too slow. It crashed on top of his right wing, pinning him to the ground. There was a sharp CRACK, Tony's wing exploded in pain, and his vision danced with spots. When his head hit the floor, his ears suddenly rang and blood flowed from a new wound on the side of his head. He had fallen onto a sharp shard of glass from the destroyed windshield. He groaned in pain and lay his head back, helpless. Gritting his teeth, he silently cussed himself out for being injured, AGAIN. At least he had gotten his friends to safety…

A few moments later, the pressure on his wing lifted and he was hauled to his feet. He felt the presence of another beside him, supporting him so he wouldn't fall.

"P-Pepper!" He gasped, as a fresh wave of pain assaulted his wing. Rhodey was next to him, helping Pepper support their injured friend.

"Come on, let's get you to the plane!" Pepper cried, and they started to move, but Tony only cried out in pain. He felt the last of his energy ebb away, and, as he did automatically whenever his strength left him, he transformed back into a human.

"Can't…make it…" he groaned, and the voices of Rhodey and Pepper, trying to reassure him became distant, and he could barely make out a fourth figure leaping through the broken windshield, coming towards him.

Then the world flipped, stars exploded in his sight as the pain in his arm sharpened, and he closed his eyes, slipping into unconsciousness.

**Well, Tony got hurt again. Sorry everyone! :'( just to clear things up a bit, he only passed out because he used a lot of energy fighting the soldiers, as well as breathing ice at those missiles. Let me know that you thought, my awesome friends! =3**


	11. Charles Xavier

**Hay everyone! :D how're you all doing? Just a few shout-outs to start with, if you guys don't mind!**

**CindyLou30-lol! :D thanks as always! I'm glad you liked it! I love dragons, and since blue-black is a SUPER COOL colour combination, I decided to use it. School's going fine for me so far, a lot of work and stuff but not killing me yet. ;) Btw, I'm not planning on making Tony getting hurt…yet. *evil grin***

**Finny-Kun Goddess: thanks!**

**PercyJacksonLover14-XD ahaha! I'm so glad you liked it that much, but I'm sorry about your nail! XD**

**Without further ado…chaptah 11! q:P**

Chapter 11 "Charles Xavier"

"No, Pepper, it's too dangerous to try and access his memories now. I can sense something about them, a terrible, heart-wrenching sadness, and for a youngster such as you, it might destroy your mind if you try. I'll admit, I'm kind of a nosy person-being a telepath-but I don't want to stick my nose into someone else's business, especially when it's so…sad." Said a commanding but gentle male voice.

"But Professor, he CAN'T remember anything! He can't remember if he has parents, or a home, or if-"

"Pepper, I know, and I've told you. We won't probe his memories any further than we already have. Those memories you covet so much are personal, as far as I can tell, and it would be both harmful to him and you if we were to try and access them when he's in this state."

"So, you're saying we should move out of New York." She joked grimly. There was laughter, and the Professor chided Pepper for playing dumb, but with good humor. But the good mood soon died and a heavy silence enveloped the four people standing in the room. Pepper walked over to Tony, where he lay in a white hospital-style bed, and gently put her hand on his broken arm, wrapped in white gauze. "When do you think he'll wake up?" She asked in a quivering voice.

"Hard to say." Rhodey said grimly. "That arm looked pretty bad…"

"And he had a pretty nasty head wound, too." Another teen spoke up. Her skin was the color of chocolate, a little lighter than Rhodey's, and yet the strange thing was that her hair, long and smooth, was a very bright white. She looked imposing and threatening, yet kind and gentle, like a storm, ready to destroy some towns, or spare them if she wished it.

"Although, he seems to be healing really fast. Faster than anybody who comes here." She remarked, lifting one of the bandages on the side of his head and inspecting the new scar. Pepper groaned and held her stomach as she looked away.

"Ughh, that is SO nasty. It makes me feel sick!" She complained. The teen with white hair smiled apologetically and reattached the bandage.

"Oh, you just haven't seen enough wounds. This one here is small compared to what we normally get." The man who had spoken with Pepper earlier spoke up. He looked older than everybody in the room, at least in his mid-20's, with lighter brown hair and clear blue eyes that sparkled with knowledge and power. He held an air of confidence, a kind of aura that made everyone around him feel secure. He was young, but experienced and powerful.

"You're not going to make a good nurse here in the school unless you get used to seeing wounds!" He chided Pepper, who shrugged.

"She treated Tony once before, when he had a ton of chest lacerations and a slashed knee." Rhodey piped up. before Pepper could glare at him, Charles looked at her incredulously.

"Really? When was this…do you mind if I look?" He asked, addressing the redhead. She nodded. Charles put a finger to his head and gazed intently at Pepper for a few minutes. When he was done, he smiled at Pepper.

"Well, it seems like we just got ourselves a new nurse!" He announced. Pepper's eyes lit up. "Ohmygosh I'd LOVE that!" She squeaked.

Meanwhile, while the four mutants talked, Tony's eyes fluttered open. Looking around the room, he saw Pepper and Rhodey, with two other people he didn't know. He tried to lift his head, only to feel the side of it throb hard with pain, and he moaned slightly, laying it back down.

_(What happened?)_

The others noticed his awakening, and Pepper was immediately at his side.

"Tony! You're awake!" She exclaimed. "How are you feeling?" Rhodey asked, coming up next to him. "I feel fine, thanks." He replied, trying once more to get up, and failing.

"Don't." Said the Professor, walking into Tony's view. Confusion flooded Tony's eyes, and the man smiled kindly.

"Don't worry, you're with friends. This young lady here is Ororo Munroe,"- He gestured to the white-haired girl- "And my name is Professor Charles Xavier, or just Professor Charles. You're in our infirmary, in my school for gifted youngsters such as yourself. We found you three inside the M.R.D.'s Blackbird, Tony, you were hurt and unconscious, and as soon as Rhodey explained who you all were, we brought you back here." Charles explained.

"Wait…who's "we"? And how did you find us?" Tony asked. Charles smiled.

"Miss Munroe here, a young man called Scott, whom you shall meet soon, and me. We were actually taking our new plane for a test flight, and ran into you three! We saw the Lockheed, with the M.R.D. insignia on it, and the shattered windshield, and decided to take a closer look. So we, ah, "parked" our aircraft next to the Blackbird, and hopped in through the broken windshield. We saw Rhodey and Pepper, and you, surrounded by a LOT of M.R.D. soldiers. All of them unconscious."

"-Yeah, there must have been, like, a hundred of them!" Pepper broke in excitedly.

Charles suppressed a smile.

"…Yes, quite. Tony, would you please explain to us what happened in that plane, before you were wounded?"

And so Tony explained what had happened, his fight with the grey-haired man, how he had jumped out of the plane when he was cornered, and the many soldiers he had fought. He ended with himself falling unconscious, just as Charles had hopped through the windshield. Professor Xavier thought hard for a moment, his eyes never leaving Tony's. After a long, thick silence, which nobody dared to break, he spoke.

"...That man, Tony, is General Stryker, the leadership of the M.R.D., and the most dangerous warrior they have. He is very intelligent, wily, cunning, and most gifted at the art of manipulation." Tony blinked.

"But…he said that-"

"Tony, he didn't want to help you. He wanted to use you. From what I can sense, and probably him too, you are a very powerful young mutant. You would be of great use to him and his vile projects." Tony's stomach did a flip-flop. He frowned. "Wait, what do you mean by 'Projects'?" The Professor grimaced.

"As I mentioned before, General Stryker is very intelligent, and is well-known for doing mutation projects on young mutants. Now, nobody knows exactly what he does, or what he's trying to accomplish, but we know one thing: that no one has ever survived one of his 'experiments'. Tony, that is precisely why he wanted you." He concluded gravely.

Dead silence. Ororo didn't seem too shocked by the explanation; it was apparent that she had heard this before. Charles sensed Tony's apprehension and smiled reassuringly, placing a hand on the teen's shoulder.

"Don't you worry, Tony, Rhodey, Pepper. You're all perfectly safe here, no matter how hard Stryker tries to, he won't find us. Ever. Now, why don't you three go down to the Rec room? There are a lot of other mutants, eager to meet you. Tony, we got you another red shirt, as it seems to be your preference." He tossed Tony a red shirt with the Charles Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters logo on it.

"Thanks, Professor." The three friends spoke simultaneously. Pepper helped Tony out of bed; they removed the bandages around his head, and the three, led by Ororo, walked out of the room. Tony looked back at Charles, and gave him a grateful smile before running after his friends.


	12. The Other Mutants

**Hey! I regret to say that some of these next chapters will be a bit uneventful, but since this is the first season of my Hunted Hero plotline, it'll take a few chapters to get everything at the School settled, so please just hold on there a bit longer my friends! :D this chapter mainly introduces the other high-school grade mutants at CXSFGY. If you know most of the mutants of the X-Men world, you can skip this chapter.**

**Now for some shout-outs!**

**CindyLou30: Thanks! Glad you liked it!**

**Finny-Kun Goddess: :D**

**PercyJacksonLover14: Glad you thought so! :D Thanks for reviewing!**

**Chapter 12, "The Other Mutants."**

After two or three more minutes of walking, Ororo, Tony, Rhodey and Pepper reached a large outdoor plaza, with a large fountain/statue in the center, and a room off to the east wall. Several legs and arms of the statue had been broken-or, more like blasted-off. Ororo sighed.

"Looks like Gene was at it again." She said with resignation. "What? Who's Gene?" Tony asked. "Another mutant student. Came here one year ago, and already he's a huge pain. You'll soon meet him, but be careful, he gets a little…out of hand sometimes."

And with that, the four headed into the east room. Through the large window, Tony could see about 9 people inside. One of them seemed to be entirely blue, and had a tail, pointed ears, and three fingers on each white-gloved hand. They walked inside, and Rhodey said, "Whoa…this place is tricked out!" Tony silently agreed. The Rec room was, first of all, HUGE, and designed like an arcade/lounge, with old-style game machines everywhere, a coffee maker, a refrigerator/freezer, and a microwave oven. Several people sat on the three couches, while the blue person Tony had seen hung upside-down on the ceiling contentedly. Two boys, about Tony's age, stood on top of the mahogany coffee table, looking very pleased with themselves. They seemed to be telling everyone else a story.

"…Yeah, I heard that one of the newbies is weak or crippled or something. He was hurt when he arrived, the wimp. I know _I _wouldn't get hurt by the M.R.D. they're a bunch of wimps." One of them, a Chinese boy was saying. He wore yellow-tinted glasses, a black shirt with the design of a yellow Chinese _lung _dragon, and dark blue jeans. His eyes were dark and glinted with dark mischief, as if he'd recently stolen Charles Xavier's car keys. The other seemed not-so-pleased being on top of the table, but had long, dark brown hair and reddish-brown eyes. He carried a lighter in his left hand, and kept fidgeting with it, flipping the shark-mouth designed head up and down, occasionally flicking it on.

"Hey, John, Gene, get off the table! You know the Professor doesn't want us standing on the furniture!" A small girl scolded. She had long, wavy brown hair, a lighter complexion, and a kind face. Her green eyes shone brightly.

But she looked downright murderous now as the Chinese boy, Gene, grinned down at her. "Not today, Kitty. Professor's back in the infirmary, treating one of the new kid's wounds, and won't be back in a loooong time!" He declared smugly.

"Actually, Gene, he is NOT in the infirmary now. He's here." Ororo called out angrily. Gene staggered on the table, and everyone's heads turned towards the four. The long-haired girl, Kitty, grinned and got up, and everyone followed her example. The blue mutant let go of the ceiling and flipped in midair, landing neatly on two of his three white toes.

Ororo smiled and stepped aside, announcing, "The three newcomers: Tony Stark, Rhodey Rhodes, and Pepper Potts." She gestured to them in turn, and one of the mutants came forward.

His body was covered with light blue fur, and he wore a simple white lab coat and small black spectacles on his leonine face. His hands and feet were tipped with large black claws, giving him the looks of a skinny blue monkey crossed with a lion. His eyes were slit-pupiled and bright yellow, like a cat's.

"Hey, Tony, Rhodey, and Pepper! Nice to meet ya! My name's Hank Mc. Coy." He said cheerfully, sticking out one of his paws and shaking Tony's hand. Ororo smiled. "Tony, Rhodey, Pepper let me introduce you to everyone.

You already know me and Hank. He's the smartest person here besides Charles." She gestured to the blue mutant who just shook Tony's hand.

"This is Kitty," She pointed to the long-haired girl who had reprimanded Gene earlier. She wore a simple white top and jeans.

"Scott Summers…" Scott was a tall, lean and lanky teen, with shorter brown hair and dark red-tinted glasses that hid his eyes. He wore a black hoody and jeans.

"Sean Cassidy…" Sean was a tall, sandy-haired boy, with s light complexion and a spray of freckles on his nose.

"Warren…" Warren was somewhat short, with blonde hair that was looked clear in the bright lights. But his most distinctive feature was a pair of enormous, pure white and feathered wings sprouting from his back through two specially-cut holes.

"Here we have Kurt Wagner…" The mutant who had hung on the ceiling came forward. His skin was a darker shade of blue than Hank's, with an arrowhead-tipped tail poking from the behind of his light blue jeans. His ears were pointed like an elf's, his eyes glowed bright yellow, and when he smiled, Pepper almost shuddered at the sight of his pointed teeth.

"Pleased to meet you, Tony, Rhodey, and Pepper." He said, with a light German accent.

"Professor picked him up from a Munich Circus, a few years ago." Kitty explained.

"Ah. Nice tail." Tony grinned, and Kurt smiled and flicked it out and used it to pick up his cup of coffee, proceeding to take a casual sip from it as the others laughed. Ororo continued as a rather pretty girl with dark brown hair stepped forward with another guy.

"Oh, almost forgot. Tony, Rhodey, Pepper, this is Rouge and her boyfriend Bobby Drake." Rouge had a very distinctive streak of white in her long, slightly blonde hair, and Bobby's eyes glowed icy blue, like the Professor's. He stuck out his hand.

"Tony, right? Pleased to meet you!" Tony shook his hand, but then recoiled in shock as his hand suddenly turned blue and was encased in ice. Bobby laughed while Tony desperately tried to break the ice that coated his hand. Rouge sighed and said, "Sorry, Tony, that's his favorite trick to play on newcomers. John, could you get this one?" She glanced over to one of the boys who had stood up on the coffee table earlier. Gene and the other long-haired boy came over.

"So, you're Tony, huh?" Gene sneered, walking straight up to Tony. (_Why am I always singled out?) _Tony wondered, slightly peeved. However, he tried to be polite and said, "Yes, and my friends here are-"

"Rhodey and Pepper, yes, Ororo said so already." He interrupted. Tony gritted his teeth, but luckily didn't need to say anything as Kitty spoke up.

"Gene, be nice! John, unfreeze his hand, please!" She commanded. The long-haired boy with the lighter, John, sighed.

"Bobby, would you PLEASE stop freezing people!?" He complained, but flicked the lighter on and suddenly, the flame grew larger, and wrapped around Tony's frozen hand. In less than three seconds, Tony yanked his hand back from the flames.

"Ow! Hot!" He exclaimed, and shook his now-unfrozen hand, spraying everyone with water as it unfroze. Gene sniggered. "What, you didn't think that _fire _was hot? And I thought that Professor said you were smart!" he mocked. Tony felt this blood boil with anger at that last remark. He gritted his teeth and stepped closer to Gene, his hands itching to punch Gene's intolerably smug face.

"So," He growled, trying as best as he could not to transform and bite Gene. "What's your power? Or is making snide remarks your only ability?" Gene's dark eyes flashed with anger at the insult and stepped back a few paces.

"You want to know my power? I'll show you!"

The others saw what was coming a second before Tony did. Ororo shouted, "Gene! Don't you dare-" but it was too late. A sphere of black energy gathered in his right palm and he threw it, hitting Tony square in the chest, and as it collided with him, it released a small explosion, and Tony was thrown back a few feet.

All of the other mutants gasped, and Gene walked forward, waiting to finish Tony off as soon as the smoke cleared, but never got the chance. Through the smoke, they saw a strange glow of light; it vanished in a second, and out sprang a black dragon. Tony tackled Gene and forced him to the ground, pinning his arms down and growling, his muzzle only a foot away from Gene's face. His expression of utter shock made Tony want to laugh out loud.

"Right," He growled, baring his teeth. "First of all, I am NOT a wimp, nor am I crippled. Second, don't you EVER do that again, or, since it seems you'd prefer fighting, we'll finish this, right here, and right now!" he threatened.

Gene gulped, unable to form words. For all his big talk, he was a coward. But he suddenly filled with indignitation and through gritted teeth, he snarled, "Fine-for now. Get your filthy scales OFF of me." And Tony, knowing that was as good as he was going to get, stepped off Gene's body and watched as he struggled to his feet. He and John stalked out of the Rec room without another word.

As soon as they had left the room, the mutants, including Rhodey and Pepper, broke out into cheering.

"Tony, that was SO awesome!" Kitty said enthusiastically. "Yeah, you really showed him!" Bobby agreed. Ororo grinned.

"Gene and John are the biggest troublemakers here." Kurt cleared his throat indignantly. "Oh, fine-they're the meanest here." She corrected grudgingly. "It's really good how you fought back at him."

"Let's just say I've had some trouble with bullies before."

Things went on from there, and in less than half an hour, the 13 mutants had all become fast friends. As far as Tony, Rhodey, and Pepper could tell, Ororo was quiet and wise, Kitty seemed really sweet and cheerful, and Rouge was slightly dark and mischievous, just like Bobby. Kurt had a great sense of humor and always joked around, and Hank was really intelligent, always spouting some kind of technical nonsense, which Tony really enjoyed, being a genius himself.

Scott seemed a little withdrawn into his own thoughts, while Sean could be really boisterous. All in all, though, they were a good-natured, humorous bunch of young mutants.

"So, Hank," Tony was saying. "I have an idea. What if we all came up with cool nicknames for ourselves, like some kind of code name for our powers?"

"Huh…I think that'd be interesting." He replied thoughtfully.  
"Let's do it!"

"All RIGHT! Show-offing time!" Hank grinned.

And so the 13 students gathered in the plaza outside. Ororo went first. She stood up high, and suddenly, her eyes turned pure white and she floated into the air. The bright blue, sunny day was instantly replaced with dark, foreboding storm clouds, and lightning crackled across the horizon.

"I'd like to be known as 'Storm'!" She announced, and floated back down, allowing the black clouds to disperse.

"'Storm'…I like that!" Tony whispered to her as she sat down next to him.

"Thank you! How was I?" She asked him nervously. Tony grinned.

"Electrifying."

Hank wanted to be called 'Beast', and everyone agreed it was appropriate, given his blue fur, large paws, and leonine face.

Since he could create/blast ice from his bare hands, Bobby chose the name 'Iceman'.

Sean called himself 'Banshee', after he shattered all the glass things in the room with one high-pitched shriek.

Kitty suggested that Warren call himself 'Angel', after his white-blonde hair and, of course, enormous wings, and so he did.

Kitty herself chose the name 'Shadowcat'. Her power was to rearrange her molecules, and therefore, she could phase right through any solid wall, so the name suited her, everyone agreed. Rouge didn't change her name; even at Bobby's insistence.

"After all, I don't really have a power." She said sadly. "If ah touch somebody, I'd drain their life force, and temporarily gain their abilities. I'm like a mutant wild card!"

"Scott, it's your turn! Who'll you be?" Sean interrupted.

Scott simply said, "Get out of the way." And once there was a clear shot, he stood up and removed his glasses. His eyes glowed ruby red and a sudden blast of pure red energy shot from his eyes, breaking through whatever they hit. After a moment he put the glasses back on, and smiled crookedly at his stunned audience. "I think I'll be 'Cyclops'."

Kurt went next. "I'd like to be called 'Nightcrawler'. It wus my name in zhe Munich Circus, and I'd like to keep it." He said simply, in his accent, and sat back down after flicking his arrowhead tail a few times.

_(Nightcrawler…)_ Tony thought. _(That sounds pretty cool…what should I be? Ice fang? Dragon Heart? Maybe Firescales?)_ While he pondered, Pepper and Rhodey couldn't think of what they wanted to call themselves yet, so they passed after showing their abilities. Rhodey's body glowed red and he fired a bolt of energy at the statues outside, knocking off somebody's stone head. Pepper simply spoke into everybody's minds at once.

"Tony?" Sean asked. "What about you?" All heads turned towards him eagerly. But before Tony could open his mouth, a voice snarled, "Hey, Stark. Professor wants to see you, right now!" Gene and John walked into view, looking incredibly pleased with themselves.

(_The dirty rats!_) Storm cursed. (_They probably went straight to the professor and told him what happened just now. Well, they're certainly in for it now!)_

"Hey, weren't you listening? I said-"

"We know, the Professor wants to see Tony, you said that already, Gene!" Rouge interrupted peevishly. Gene sneered at her.

"What are you all _doing_, anyway? Is this a sewing circle?" He mocked. Beast stood up angrily. "If you must know, we're coming up with names for ourselves. I'm Beast." Gene laughed out loud. "Beast, huh? Well, it certainly…suits you." John snickered.

"Well, I must admit, I like the idea of a cooler name. I think I'd like to be known as 'BackFire'."

"I think that's a gut idea. A half hour ago, ze situation pretty much backfired on YOU." Nightcrawler spoke up. A chuckle went around the circle of students as Gene's face turned red.

"Shut up, Wagner." Gene growled.

"Hey, I hate to interrupt a good fight, but I think I'll be Pyro." John spoke up. Gene whirled around in anger.

"Don't speak unless I say you can!" He snarled. John glared at him in return. Tony stood up and began to walk away.

"Hey, where are YOU going, Stark?" Gene called after him. Tony didn't even look back as he said, "The Professor." Everyone except for Gene and John silently followed him, and the two were left in the plaza, seething.

Once they were safely back indoors, heading back along the hallway, Ororo said to Tony, "You know, I'll bet that the Professor didn't really want to see you. I mean, Gene's always lying, and-" Tony interrupted her. "It's Okay, he spoke to me through his mind and I relayed what was happening here. Then he said he really DID want to see me, but for a –what did he call it?-some kind of scan?" he raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"Oh, the scan. I should've told you earlier, but every newcomer has to be scanned first. It's nothing much, it only determines you powers, evaluates your overall health, and freaks out the younger ones." She smiled. "Rhodey and Pepper already went in it, while you were unconscious, and had their powers evaluated. They'll tell you later, though, and your scan will be performed once you've all been situated in your dorm rooms."

"Will we all be together?" he asked.

"No, sorry. The boys and girls are separated, of course, and you, I think, will at least be with Rhodey. That, I can assure you." Tony sighed, partly disappointed he wouldn't be with Pepper, but of course, he couldn't say _that._

"Just as long as I'm not with Gene."

**~An hour later~**

"Ahhh, dorm, sweet, dorm." Beast exclaimed happily. They had finally arrived at the dorm room they were to share. Nightcrawler was already inside, relaxing on the top of his bunk while reading a book, written in his native language. Tony wondered for a moment how he got there so fast, then remembered his ability to teleport.

In the northern part of the room, straight ahead, a wall-sized window overlooked the wilderness to the north, and a clear door opened to a large balcony with two chairs and a table as furniture. The eastern wall was dominated by two large navy-blue bunk beds, while the western wall had a HUGE white desk covered with notes and papers, scientific-looking flasks and beakers that bubbled incessantly. There were several pieces and parts of metal as well as many technological-looking gizmos. To the right of the door sat a refrigerator, stocked with soda, water, candy, and many other goodies.

Tony whistled. "I think I'm gonna like it here!"


	13. Mutant Abilities

**Thank-yous!**

**PercyJacksonLover14-Lol! I hate Gene as well and he's not gonna be nice in this story. B) I meant to put that in, I need someone to help me come up with a good name for Tony, Rhodey, and Pepper! I'll put that in the end of this (boring) chapter. Thanks!**

**Finny-Kun Goddess: Lol, he's a jerk alright.**

**NOTE: If anyone here has watched Phantom of the Opera, you may catch the song title I hid in here!**

**Chapter 13, "Mutant Abilities"**

**"Name: Anthony Stark.**

**Classification: Class 5**

**Ability: Can transform into two-legged, winged dragon at will. **

**Deficiency: Heart is extremely fragile and cannot withstand physical stress. Also, his heart's natural Pacemaker cannot beat fast enough to keep up with any amount of extreme activity, making him unable to engage in most stressful situations.**

**Others: Being part dragon gives Anthony benefits as a human as well. Has very quick reflexes/agility. Can heal from wounds up to 3 times as fast as normal. Can use small telepathic ability to speak to other animals/humans, but only at close range. Breathes fire/ice. Can fly at speeds up to 200 MPH. Being able to breathe fire as well as ice gives him the ability to control his body's temperature, and allows him to either heat up or cool off at will, regardless of his surroundings. Hollow bones allow him fast, powerful flight but will make him extremely lightweight and are easy to break. "**

"Scan ID#134."

Tony read the plastic card he had received after his scan aloud. Pepper read happily over his shoulder, while Rhodey listened intently. They were back in the Rec room. It was late at night, and all the other mutants had gone to bed. But the three wanted some time to themselves, being very close friends and all.

"Hmm. Seems accurate enough." He finished, raising an eyebrow at the brisk formality of the card. "Wow! 200 miles per hour!" Pepper exclaimed. Tony grinned at her.

"I've done 250 before." He announced with mock arrogance while Rhodey rolled his eyes. "Come on, Rhodey, read yours." Tony told him with a laugh. Rhodey stood up and read his card aloud.

**Name: James Rhodes.**

**Classification: Class 3.**

**Ability: Body can absorb any type of energy and redirect it.**

**Deficiency: None.**

**Others: James's energy-redirecting ability gives him extremely fast reflexes, as well as a fast-paced metabolism. He can use the stored energy in his body to release electricity bolts as well as plasma.**

**Scan ID#133**

"Well, that's pretty much true." Rhodey said after he had finished.

"Able to release plasma bolts, hmm?" Tony mused aloud. "Sounds pretty sweet! But what's this about the 'extremely fast reflexes'?" He asked, slightly miffed that there was another with reflexes as great as his. Rhodey smiled at his friend's obvious annoyance.

"For one thing, when Pepper and I were flying in the planes, I was the first to notice the M.R.D.'s Blackbird about to hit us." He raised his head arrogantly and placed a hand on his chest. "I had reflexes fast enough to warn her, and probably saved both our lives." Tony grinned and gave him a playful shove.

"What about when the M.R.D. hit you both with those green disable charges?" He accused. "I broke my wing and got my head sliced open when I steered the Blackbird out of the way so it didn't hit you guys!"

"THAT, you can ask Pepper." Rhodey glared at her. She widened her eyes innocently.

"I only wanted to remind you where the airplane's auto-pilot button was. You were the one who pressed it in the first place!" She retorted. Tony grinned triumphantly at Rhodey, who grumbled, "Fine, fine. I pressed the button by ACCIDENT, and it froze the controls. Stupid auto-pilot almost got us KILLED. Anyway, Pepper' you should read your card now."

**Name: Patricia Potts.**

**Classification: Class 4.**

**Ability: Telepathy (ability to read minds and see into the memory), Telekinesis (Ability to move objects by focusing brain waves), emotional reception (Ability to sense other's emotions), and has a remarkable capacity for healing knowledge.**

**Deficiency: If a temper can be a deficiency, for Patricia it is.**

**Others: Miss Potts is remarkably gifted in the area of medical emergencies. May possibly develop healing abilities in the future.**

**Scan ID#132**

Tony laughed out loud while Rhodey grinned broadly after she had finished. Pepper's face flushed with either amusement or anger.

"'If a temper can be a deficiency, for Patricia it is.' Pepper, even the _machine_ agrees!" Tony chuckled. "It's not funny!" she protested, but of course, that only made them laugh harder. She shook her head while they composed themselves, recovering the breath they had lost while laughing. After a few minutes everything had quieted down. The night air blew as a gentle breeze through the windows, accompanied by the rhythmic chirping of crickets and the occasional hoot of an owl. The three friends grew silent, listening to the Music of The Night. After a few minutes, Pepper broke the silence.

"So have you guys gotten your schedules yet?" She asked casually, addressing both of the boys next to her. Tony and Rhodey nodded.

"Pretty much the same for everyone in our grade. Breakfast at 8, normal classes-math, reading, history-, lunch, more classes, special tutoring, then dinner, then free time." Tony recited. Pepper nodded sadly. "I won't be able to see you guys that much, then. We won't have any of the same classes or meal periods." Tony sighed. "At least we'll be able to meet up in the Rec room after dinner. That's not so bad!"

"Yea, if Beast doesn't keep you in the Lab all day!" Pepper complained. Tony immediately perked up.

"A lab? There's a lab here?!" He exclaimed. Pepper allowed herself to smile at his sudden enthusiasm. "Yep, there is, Storm gave me a tour while you were unconscious." She suddenly stood up and jabbed a finger into his chest.

"And if you spend all day and night in there, without seeing me or Rhodey, I swear I'll make you think you're a 6-year-old girl for the rest of your life!" She threatened. Tony's eyes narrowed, but he felt a tremor of fear pass through him.

"You wouldn't."

"I'd have Storm braid your hair." She grinned mischievously.

The Xavier Institute worked in a special way for all of the mutants. For one thing, there were 13 wings of dorm rooms in the huge institute, 12 for the grades and 1 for the teachers, Charles Xavier, Erik Lehnsherr, and more. It ran grades 1-8, then Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior in high school. Tony and Rhodey, being 17, were in the Junior year of High School. Pepper was 16, which unfortunately placed her in Sophomore. The schedules for each grade were slightly different, to keep the older students away from the younger ones. Except for during the after-dinner free time, students from different grades never saw one another. The elementary school-7th grade students were all taught in the left half of the Institute, whereas the 8th-Senior students were in the right. The middle section was used mainly for entertainment, with a playground outside in the front, a jungle gym, basketball courts, a pool, and countless other playthings. The Rec room was reserved entirely for the high schoolers, who seemed to prefer the large indoor-and-air-conditioned game room.

Except for a huge grand ballroom that held the entrance (reserved for dances and special occasions), no place in the school was empty.

**~The Next Day~**

"Come on Tony, get up you lazybones!" Hank chided, shaking the aforementioned mutant's bunk. A mop of messy brown hair appeared for just an instant, but then a hand shot out and covered it with a pillow.

"Mmmph. Leamme 'lone." A muffled voice groaned from underneath the piles of blankets. Beast grinned and yanked the sheets off the bed, exposing Tony's body to the icy winter's air. Tony shrieked and tried to grab the blanket back but Hank threw it to Kurt, who disappeared with it in a puff of red smoke. Tony sighed and sat up, forced to be awake. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and glared at Beast, who smiled innocently back at him.

"What do you want? It's 4 in the morning!" He complained. Kurt reappeared with Rhodey, already awake and dressed.

"It's your tour time!" Beast announced happily. "Kurt and I are going to give you and Rhodey a quick tour of the High Schooler's wing." He tossed a red shirt to Tony, who hastily put it on. "And you'd better comb your hair first. Woof." He teased, getting smacked in the face moments later with a well-aimed pillow.

Twenty minutes later, a groggy Tony and a wide-awake Rhodey, led by Beast and Nightcrawler, toured the Xavier Institute. They had so far seen the Basketball courts and playground outside, they had already been to the Rec room and plaza, and now, Beast led them down a set of stairs and into an underground level of the Institute. They walked down a long hallway in silence, and after a few minutes they reached a large, circular door with a huge X in the middle. Beast looked back at them and grinned.

"Tony, Rhodey, I'm not really allowed to show you this, but I think you can be trusted, and so does the Professor. Meet Cerebro! We're not allowed to go inside, and only the Professor can get in, thanks to the eye scanner, but basically, he uses his telepathic powers in it, and he can locate and communicate with EVERY single mutant and or human in the world. I just wanted to show you." He added, and turned around, leading them back upstairs to the surface. Tony took one last look at the circular door that led into Cerebro. He had the strangest feeling he had seen it before somewhere.

(_But that's impossible,_) he thought confusedly. (_I've never been here before, and Hank just said its top secret. No, it must be a coincidence._) He shook his head and followed his friends, away from the strange machine that haunted him.

**GAAH another boring chapter -_- I'm sorry, it sounded so much better in my head! Next chaps are going to be Tony, Rhodey, and Pepper's lessons with Charles. (MORE BORINGNESS) I promise you guys, things will get exciting after these next few chapters! (I hope)**

**IMPORTANT NOTE: I need someone to help me come up with a good name for Tony, Rhodey, and Pepper! So if anyone gets any good ideas could you please PM me? Thank you so much for reading this!**


	14. A Lesson With Charles Xavier&Tony

**NOTE-this chapter is to give y'all an idea of what Tony's private lessons with Charles Xavier are like. The next 2 chapters (after this one) will be Rhodey and Pepper's lessons. Basically, in the lessons that Charles Xavier teaches, the skills of the student are practiced and sometimes new ones are found. Hope you like it!**

**Chapter 14, "A Lesson With Charles Xavier"**

"Come on, Tony, the practice field is just this way. I had Hank fix it up especially for your training lessons." Professor Xavier called happily, walking into the Rec room where Tony, Rhodey, Pepper, Sean and Kitty were playing Pinball.

"Come on, Rhodey, you've got it!" cheered Pepper. Rhodey was at the controls and had so far raked up a score of 15,078,996. His brown eyes were wide open and hyper-focused on the game, pupils darting around, following the silver ball as it bounced noisily back and forth across the field and off the flippers and springs. Tony looked up.  
"What's that, Professor?"

"Tony, it's time for your first private lesson. We'll begin with some flight maneuvers, and then some skeet target shooting." He added as Tony reluctantly got up and, waving good-bye to Pepper, left with the Professor for his first lesson.

They walked out of the Xavier Institute and out into a huge green field. Among the green, lush but freshly cut grass there was a skeet target machine, just as Charles had said, as well as several large hoops stacked up beside the machine. Beast stood next to the hoops, smiling as Tony and Charles grew closer. After a moment Charles spoke.

"Tony, I think we'll begin this lesson with a quick evaluation of your gifts. Would you please transform for me?" He did, and as the light from Tony's transformation faded, the Professor's eyes grew wide with astonishment.

"Amazing! Tony, did you know that you may be the last surviving dragon these days? The last ones, a whole tribe of them, flew into the Himalayan region decades ago, and were never seen again. Anyway, I thought we'd start out with a little target practice. You go over there-" he motioned to the other end of the field. "And Hank, or, Beast, as you call him, shall launch a set of targets out to you. You are to try and blast them with fire or ice, whichever you prefer, and destroy as many as possible. You may fly or stay on the ground. Any questions?" Tony shook his head no and flew off to the other end of the field.

_Sproing!_ Target number one shot out of the machine and out across and into the sky. Tony launched himself into the air and breathed out a swirling blast of fire at the small Frisbee-like disc hurtling towards him, and it crumbled into ashes midair. He had barely finished when another disc launched from the machine. This time he froze it in a block of clear ice, and watched it fall out of the sky and shatter on the ground. He smacked the next one with his arrowhead tail and sliced it clean in half. He bit one and took a large chunk out of it.

This went on for a few minutes, and with every target he obliterated, Tony felt more and more energized. Beast increased the frequency and number of targets launched until they were shooting out of the machine like a chain gun. Charles watched in awe, studying the fire that leapt from Tony's jaws and the ice that swirled in the clear summer air. Tony was truly a magnificent dragon. When at last the machine ran out of targets, Charles called him back.

"Tony, you destroyed all of the targets!" Hank exclaimed as Tony, grinning broadly, neatly landed beside him and folded his wings. Charles beamed at him.

"I must say, Mr. Stark, that was incredibly impressive! You see, when you hit the targets with fire, your fire reaches a degree of heat by being exposed to oxygen, and therefore intensifies, the longer you breathe the fire, the hotter it gets, and the target disintegrated on contact. When you froze it with ice, instead of freezing just that one spot on the target where you hit it, the ice actually expanded and grew, literally creeping across the object until it was completely sheathed in ice. That, I must say, is especially impressive. Have you ever been mentored on this before? Have you ever had much time to practice these skills?" Tony grimaced.

"Well, when I was on the road, running, I sometimes used ice on people who were chasing me, and sometimes I froze water just for fun, but that's about it. From what I can barely remember, I've never been taught, no." the Professor considered this.

"I see. I was only asking because it seems that you have mastered the elements of fire and ice already. Other than flying, do you have any other skills?" Charles asked.

Tony thought for a moment.

"Well, one time I can remember making an energy shield around myself, but only once."

"Well, why don't you try now?" The Professor encouraged.

"No, I can't remember how I did it, and I don't even know if I can anymore! I've done…strange things like that before, but I can never do them twice." Charles clapped a hand on Tony's scaly shoulder.

"Tony, may I remind you that you are a Class 5 Mutant? You have the capability to use MANY powers, even if you think you can't." He reminded him.

"We're not going to force you to do anything you don't wish to do, but would you at least try? Think of how useful that skill will be, especially in situations that involve the M.R.D.!" Hank encouraged. Tony sighed. "Alright, I'll try it. But how? I was panicked back then, and I only acted on instinct. I have no idea how I did it!"

"Then let me try and bring that memory back. Having those thoughts you had in your mind back then should come back to you, and you may remember how you did it." He suggested. Tony nodded his consent after a moment's hesitation, and both he and Charles closed their eyes and concentrated.

Charles entered Tony's memories and picked out the one where Tony had apparently created an energy shield. The memory wasn't too pretty.

_(Tony was once more a dragon, and running from a troop of armed M.R.D. soldiers in one of their huge trucks. He ran through a barren land with virtually no plants or trees, but more rocks and dirt. The ten M.R.D. soldiers caught up with him and surrounded him, training their guns on the young dragon's body. His eyes were wide and afraid, but something in them showed anger. The leader of the troop, a burly, bearded man, signaled to the others and they all fired at once, but a second before they did, Tony let out a sharp scree and a green energy shield formed around him, and the lasers from the guns reflected right off of it and struck the guns they had come from, and exploded. Panicked, the soldiers retreated into their truck and rode off, a cloud of sandy-orange dust trailing behind them as they sped off. Looking bewildered, Tony let the shield disperse and collapsed to the ground, exhausted.)_

_(I think that's enough.)_ Charles thought, and receded from Tony's mind.

"I-I remember now!" The teen stuttered. "I knew I was about to be shot, but I also felt a sudden surge of energy, and I just sort of released it, and the next thing I knew, a green shield of that energy formed around me." He closed his eyes once more and pictured the scene that Charles had just shown him. The ice and fire that he had the power to breathe swirled around inside of him, and just as he had before, he let the energy flow out through every inch of his body and form a protective sphere around him. He opened his eyes and saw a sudden flash of green and blue, and then everything turned black, and he fell down, unconscious.

"Oh, dear, I'm afraid I pushed him a little too hard." The Professor murmured worriedly as Tony, drained of all his power, unconsciously reverted back to his human form, slumping to the ground, unconscious. Charles ran to him. He placed one of his arms around the boy's back and sat him upright, and after a moment those crystal blue eyes fluttered open.

"Huh…what? Did…did I do it?" He muttered feverishly. Charles smiled kindly.

"Yes, Tony, you did, but you fainted after a few seconds of creating it. I apologize, I fear I have pushed you too hard just now, I should have known that it took enormous amounts of power on your part…" Tony stood up woozily and smiled at the Professor.

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine." He assured his mentor, who smiled with relief.

"Well, Tony, you did very well today. We shall work on increasing your durability with the energy shield, but that's for another day, it appears you need your rest now. For now, class dismissed. Oh, and Tony?" he called back as his student started back towards the Institute.

"Yes, Professor?"

"That energy shield was quite something." Tony smiled back at him and walked off, followed by Hank. As soon as the two left, the Professor frowned and paced along the length of the huge, green field, littered with broken, frozen, and burned frisbees.

(_What IS this boy?_) He wondered. (_He's the most powerful mutant I've ever seen. How can he be such a master at the art of fire and ice, be extremely adept at flying, transforming, and using his extreme agility, yet have his mind wiped of all memories of his parents and past? If only…if only we knew his past…we'd be able to know who, how, and why he is, what he is today?_)

**The mystery deepens! XD Soo, Tony can use strange powers not really related to his initial dragon-transforming ability…interesting, you think? Or do you not like it? All I can say is that it should come in handy in a later chapter…muahaha XD**


	15. A Lesson With Charles Xavier&Rhodey

**HAY PPLZ! :D**

**First off some thanks to you all, but specifically, PercyJacksonLover14! First and foremost, she's been so kind and funny and supportive while I'm writing! She's been so much fun to PM as well, and agreed to continue her (WICKED cool) story, Taken Over! This chapter's for you, my friend! :D**

**Thanks also to SilverPedals1402! That was a really nice review! :)**

**Now…WITHOUT FURTHER ADO!**

**LET'S READ!**

**Chapter 15 "Rhodey's Lesson"**

Rhodey followed Professor Xavier down the stairs, into the Training Room. Their footsteps echoed hollowly in the quiet air of morning, the entire mansion seeming to be empty. Once they arrived in the room, Rhodey looked around, amazed by the dozens of weapons that hung on a rack in the far corner of the enormous metal gym, the coils of metal resting in the eastern side, apparently used often, judging by the numerous scorch marks. Mounted machine guns hung on the walls from all sides, about 5 on each side, loaded and ready to be activated. In the wall opposite the entrance, a huge glass window led to the control room, and behind the panels of buttons, gauges, and levers, Rhodey saw a door with a huge padlock bolting it shut. Rhodey whistled.

"Man, you guys take combat training real seriously." He commented. Charles grinned. "This room is specialized for M.R.D. situations. Those coils of wire-" he gestured to the pile of smoking metal, "-are actually M.R.D. mutant-seeking drones. They hunt down any person with an activated X-Gene and either strangle or capture the target, depending on the programmer. We picked these up a few weeks ago, when Scott, Ororo, and Hank went on a scouting mission. After they brought us back these robots-we call them Snake Hounds-we've began to disassemble them, get to know their workings better so that we may defeat them easier. Now come, it's time for your first lesson."

Charles led him into the room, pulled out a key and unlocked the door. He turned and smiled at Rhodey. He held the door open while Rhodey walked cautiously through. It was a long, wide hallway with walls made of bright shiny steel. Three dummies were set up in the far corner of the corridor, with targets on their faces and chests. Charles gestured to them.

"For starters, why don't we see what you can to them?" he suggested. Rhodey looked at him cautiously.

"Professor…I'm not completely in control of the energy I can make. I might…" He trailed off as Charles put a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. "I know, Rhodey. But you won't hurt me. In fact, if it makes you feel better I'll wait outside for a few minutes while you practice." He suggested. Rhodey sighed with relief. "Thanks, Professor." Charles smiled and walked out of the room, shutting it tightly behind him.

Rhodey turned to face the three targets and clenched his hands. He gazed at them thoughtfully, thinking of how he would manage to release his energy without destroying everything around him, which was what happened almost every time he tried to use his powers. He tried not to think about that unfortunate fact as he closed his eyes and felt warm energy course through his veins. He thought about the one thing he knew how to make so far-plasma-and thrust his right hand out. A tingling sensation ripped through his nerves on that arm, then rapidly spread through his whole body.

(_Oh no, not again!_) He thought desperately, but it was too late. He had already channeled the power. The tingling quickly turned into a burning fire spreading through his limbs and he had no choice but to release the energy. Everything he saw turned red. The supposedly solid ground beneath him suddenly churned, as if he was standing on the surface of a breaking wave. There was a screeching noise, somewhat like the sound Tony made as a dragon, only this was more like tearing metal. He fell to his knees and began to shake uncontrollably.

Behind him, the door opened and Charles ran through, straight to Rhodey's side.

"Rhodey, are you alright? What…" he trailed off as he looked up at the sight of the room. The walls had been sliced in 4 different places on each side, as if somebody had gone crazy with a giant weed whacker. They were smoking, and a silvery liquid-melted metal-oozed down the sides of the gashes, slowly solidifying into grey teardrops.

"Rhodey… what did you do?" Charles asked, aghast. Rhodey winced and stood up shakily. He looked guiltily at all the damage he had caused. He grimaced.

"Professor Xavier, I'm sorry, I-"

"Sorry?!" Charles broke into a grin. "Why the devil would you be sorry, Rhodey? That was amazing! These walls are made of the hardest metal yet discovered!"

**(NOTE: Not Adamantium, and I don't know if titanium, which I use in this chapter, actually is the strongest or not, it may be Tungsten, but it does have many uses in the outer skin of aircraft, to make fire walls, landing gear, and hydraulic tubing, so I figured it waould have to be pretty strong, plus a typical commercial jet airplane contains 318 to 1134 kg (700 and 2500 lb) of titanium) **

** "**You generated a kind of energy hot enough to melt through-and cut clean through!-a 5-foot thick titanium alloy-which, by the way, has an extremely high tensile strength-and even melt it." Charles told him in awe.

"But I couldn't control it." Rhodey said miserably. "I never can. If I accidentally used that energy while I was near someone…they'd end up like that wall." He sat back down. The effort of trying to control that much energy had left him fuzzyheaded and exhausted. He felt like he had been hauling anvils all day in the hot sun. Charles sat down next to him and thought for a moment.

"Well, Rhodey, I hope you don't mind the fact that I am going through your memories to see what happened just now. The energy you produced came from your entire body-you literally turned completely red-and swirled around you, gaining momentum and building up magnitude, then expanded and shredded the walls." He said thoughtfully. Rhodey frowned.

"So? What does that have to do with controlling it?"

"Everything! Like I said, when you generated that enormous amount of pure energy, you released it through your entire body instead of one point, such as the palm of your hand. However, even if you had succeeded in channeling the power to flow out your hand, the sheer force of such energy would've thrown you to the ground-as it did. We must somehow stabilize that sheer force of energy into one part of your body, where you'll be more stable…" He mused.

"I bet Tony could invent something like that, maybe like, a suit or something that I could wear that would focus the energy in one particular spot…" Rhodey thought aloud. Charles looked at him thoughtfully. "Now, that's an idea. Well, why don't you be on your way, I think that's enough training for today. Would you go and tell this to Mister Stark what you learnt in this lesson? I'm sure he'd be eager to show off his inventing skills." He chuckled.

Rhodey nodded, thanked the Professor for the quick lesson, and headed off to the Lab. After he told Tony of his need for something to stabilize his powers, the inventor enthusiastically agreed. He would begin Rhodey's suit immediately.

**Sorry if that ending was rushed, I'm eager to start on Pepper's lesson. Next chapter will be posted soon! =3**


	16. A Lesson With Charles Xavier&Pepper

**Hiya'll! Sorry it took so long, I've been busy, tired, and busy. BUT here's the next chapter! First some thank-yous though.**

**PercyjacksonLover14: Haha, thanks! I'm sure you can guess what book that phrase is from. ;) This chapter's for you!**

**WolfOfProphecy's: Sorry if I kept you waiting! I didn't know you were reading this! :D Thanks for reviewing!**

**NOW THEN…**

**Disclaimer:….**

***Cries***

**Chapter 16 "Pepper's Lesson"**

Pepper sighed in frustration as she failed, for the sixteenth time that day, to penetrate the mind of another mutant. (Bobby Drake) Charles had placed him on the other side of the campus, and, after seeing her capability to see into minds at a close range, he had her try out long-distance telepathy.

_It will come in handy, _he had told her. _If you're ever attacked by someone, the M.R.D. perhaps, then they won't wait to stun you. You have to be able to stop them from at a distance. That, and it's far more convenient than a cell phone._

Her head ached now, heart pounding painfully in her temples as her headache grew worse, sending her to a chair nearby and making the floor roll and swirl beneath her unsteady feet like she was standing on a breaking wave of linoleum-colored water.

"Pepper, I apologize." Came a distant voice. She looked up, and slowly, Professor Xavier's concerned face came into focus. He was kneeling beside her, a hand gently resting on her shoulder. He waited until she could focus on him, and spoke softly to his distressed student. "You really are doing great, Pepper. How about we try this tomorrow? You have an hour long free period after this lesson, you can spend it now if you wish. That would give you an extra half hour to relax." He suggested kindly, a glint of something she couldn't quite place in his bright, icy eyes. She slowly nodded, feeling disappointed in her lack of skill on her first lesson.

As she wandered the hallways, she wondered why she couldn't use her telepathy long-range. _(I suppose it just takes practice…) _she thought glumly. Then she suddenly had a mischievous thought. (_That lesson only lasted a half hour and there's NO way I'm spending my free period alone and bored!) _And she sprinted off towards the dormitories, grinning. Once in her empty room she reached under her pillow on her upper bunk and pulled out a stink bomb she had acquired through Nightcrawler's market of prank items. Grinning broadly, she sprinted again, back to the Arithmancy room.

She peeked in, looking around at the large room of bored Juniors, including Rhodey and Tony. Tony, however, was the only one who actually seemed awake and listening to Professor Titanus, A.K.A. Colossus. His ability, other than bring people to death during math, was that he could turn his entire body to steel. His body was huge; he was tall, and extremely powerful.

And he was, by far, the most boring teacher in the Institute.

Pepper could hear his boring voice droning on and on about Trigonometry. She made a face and pulled the string on her stink grenade, pulled the door open and heaved it in, then ran as fast as she could down the long hall, laughing as she heard twenty-six surprised voices cry out, followed by a loud explosion. She looked back to see a sickly, sulfurous gas leak out from beneath the door, and she could hear gagging and coughing coming from inside. The stench of natural gas and skunk spray prickled her nostrils and she grinned once more, running all the way back to her dormitory. On the way back she could hear the door opening and students pouring out, running as fast as they could away from the horrible smell while Professor Titanus roared in anger, demanding for the culprit to reveal themselves.

She collapsed on the bed, winded but elated with her prank. For several seconds she felt a sense of malicious pleasure, but then an angry voice crashed into her mind like thunder.

_(PEPPER POTTS! I SAW WHAT YOU JUST DID, THROWING A SKUNKBOMB INTO PROFESSOR TITANUS'S CLASS, WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?!)_ Professor Xavier's magnified voice roared. She recoiled instantly, wincing as her head started throbbing again. (_I-I'm sorry Professor! I was just bored and you had let me out of class for an hour and a half and I couldn't think of anything else and Tony was there and I just wanted to test the Skunkbomb and that was like a perfect time to do that and I just -I just…wait…) _she stopped ranting in her mind for a few seconds and felt a stunning thrill run through her as she realized where the Professor was. He chuckled in her mind.

(_Correct. I am in the west wing of the Institute. And you are…?)_

_(In…in the east wing…) _she thought back, amazed. She could almost feel his scholar-turned-student grin of triumph.

(_Wait, Professor…did you plan this?!)_

_(That would be highly mischievous and slightly uncouth, childish, and disrespectful. Of course I did.)_

_(But…! I-you-)_

He chuckled.

_(It seems that we've just discovered how best to use your powers-through emotion. I figured as much, which was why I let you go early, knowing you'd get bored quickly-though sooner than I expected-and pull some kind of prank on the other students. I would then use my telepathy to contact you; while you were feeling delighted with yourself, and then shock as I rage inside your head. If you'd been unable to use your telepathy through emotion, you wouldnt've been able to respond. However, you did, and so now we know that your powers, like many others, come out best when you're displaying emotion.)_

Pepper's voice was silent as Professor Xavier explained all this. Her stomach had been tingling from the sudden shock, but now it was churning and felt warm with pride.

_(Now, how about we give that lesson another try?) _His voice urged. She smiled and replied, _(On my way, Professor.)_

_(Oh…yes, one thing-you may not drop Skunkbombs in my class.)_

She grinned and slipped one into her pocket anyway, jumped off her bunk, and headed back to the classroom. On the way, she saw Tony round the corner, coughing. He looked at her (and she felt her heart flutter as usual).

"Pepper, did you see who dropped that Skunkbomb?" He asked anxiously. She smiled sweetly and shook her head, then ran away again and Rhodey frowned at her suspiciously.

**Hahaha I hope that was humorous enough! I thought this story needed more funny so I made Pepper show her colors as a prankster in this chapter :P hope you awesome people liked it!**


	17. The Midnight Ride of Tony and Pepper

**Hiya everybody! :D How're you all doing with school and everything? Are you all doing okay? And does anyone else watch My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic? ;D Best. Show. EVA!**

**THIS CHAPTER'S FOR WOLFOFPROPHECY'S! he/she really encouraged me to update sooner, and totally made my day! (Btw, I read your profile XD It's hilarious!) Thanks again Wolf!**

**Shot-outs! Whoopee!**

**PercyJacksonLover14: hehe, I try to make Charles everything I'd like a teacher to be-awesome! :) Thanks, I'm really really glad you liked it!**

**UnltrRed55: Don't worry, it's alright! I'm sorry for not reviewing on Amnesia either, I just got REAL busy. :( But I'll try! Thanks so much for reviewing! :)**

**Disclaimer:**

**I own nothing but a science textbook that's kicking my butt. -.-**

**Chapter 17 **

**The Midnight Ride of Tony and Pepper.**

And so, Tony, Rhodey and Pepper, now fully accustomed to living in Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, (or for short, The Xavier Institute) went through their daily lessons with ease. Tony's energy shields were growing stronger by the day,Pepper's telepathy improved greatly, and thanks to an invention Tony made for him-a grey-and-red suit with a large metal energy-conducting circle in the center of the chest-Rhodey learned to release his unstable energy through that circle in any form he pleased, and soon became adept at shooting targets with deadly accuracy.

Charles struggled to help Tony to regain his memory, but whenever he tried to see into Tony's past through his mind, nothing came up but a few dark images: a middle-aged man, lying on the ground, broken and motionless, a sky full of fire, a sudden glow of bright blue, and ashes from a ruined village. Tony could still not reclaim anything of his past, and his memories remained as clouded as ever.

Erik Lehnsherr seemed to grow reclusive and dark, practicing his powers every day in front of the young students. He would set up several test dummies, then viciously spear their eyes with shards of metal. Nobody minded him, however, except for Tony and Pepper. They both sensed something about his personality, a lusting for revenge, violent ideas and notions inside of him, and a kind of dark power that lay in his mutant ability, so they both learned to avoid him.

Tony and Hank had grown quite close, since they were both geniuses, and Tony

often spent long hours in his and Hank's new laboratory, working on invention after

invention. Over the course of several months, Tony had even built a huge black plane,

loaded with high-tech weapons and defense systems, and after showing it to Charles

Xavier, he named it the X-plane.

Tony sighed. He was out on the balcony of his shared dorm. The stars in the sky sparkled as usual, with no other light to blot them out. The moon was shining in the sky, a beautiful white orb of light amidst smaller pinpricks of glow. The gentle spring breeze ruffled his hair lightly as he gazed out over the forested skyline. The sky was tinted navy blue with a lighter cobalt tinge at the edge of the horizon.

Things were so much different now; only 6 months ago, he lay wounded and dying on the forest floor, alone and hunted, but now he had safety, friends and a home, and a mentor who was like a second father to him.

(_Indeed,) _he thought. (_The Professor's helped me in more ways than just one._)

"Like how?" A voice behind him chirped. Tony jumped and spun around to see Pepper

behind him, smiling as she closed the curtains behind her.

"Pepper! How'd you get in here? I thought the boy's dorms were off-limits to

girls!" Tony stuttered. She grinned, walking over to him. Tony's heart fluttered.

He hadn't gotten to see her the past few days, both of them had been busy with the

Professor, and Tony had stayed up late into the night, working on the blueprints for a new

invention. He had missed her a lot more than he was willing to admit.

"They are; I snuck Rhodey's room key out of his pocket when he wasn't looking.

Not only that, but Storm is REALLY strict, and she's gone for the night on an errand for

the Professor, and…well, I missed you." Pepper admitted shyly. Tony grinned and shook

his head in disbelief. The two of them were then silent, just looking up at the sky. Finally,

it was Pepper who broke the thick silence.

"So really, what did you mean earlier about the Professor helping you?" She

asked. Tony blinked and looked at her with some frustration. It was annoying to have

someone in your head and not even knowing it!

"Well, he's been trying really hard to help my memory come back, and to

improve my abilities. He's taken special precaution not to strain my heart, too, and it's

just that…" His voice trailed off and he looked down.

"…that nobody's done anything like that to you before. Be nice, I mean." Pepper

guessed softly. Tony nodded sadly. "Not that I can remember. I mean, don't tell him this,

but Professor Xavier's like a second father to me."

"You said 'second'." Pepper noticed. Tony smiled a bit but still didn't look up.

"Yeah. Remember how I told you I can't remember anything, but that the

Professor's trying to help me?" She nodded. "Well, every time he goes…inside…" He

tapped the side of his head. "I can see a few images, scenes from my past, and there's one

of my father giving me something." Pepper's eyes widened.

"Really? Are you sure that he's your dad?" Tony nodded once more.

"I'm sure of it…hey, Pepper, can you keep a secret?" He said suddenly. Pepper smiled

and said she could. Tony reached into his pocket, dug around for a few moments, and

pulled out a glowing blue sphere of metal. It was the same color as Tony's eyes; a light

cobalt, and cast a faint glow around itself as if it were a small blue sun. It fit in his palm

nicely, about two times the size of a ping-pong ball. Tony watched as Pepper's brown

eyes grew wide when she saw the strange sphere of metal. It cast a faint blue glow on

Tony's hand, illuminating his face as well.

"Is that what your dad gave you? It's so…incandescent. But what is it?"

"It's a very special piece of metal my father constructed. It's a power source, like a

battery, only about a thousand times more powerful, and it can hold enormous amounts of

energy, which causes the glow. Not only that, but it's capable of producing a steady flow

of energy for a long time."

"Wow."

"That's not even the cool part about it!" Tony's voice had filled with excitement, and his

eyes shone brightly, the way they did whenever he talked about his favorite thing, tech.

"The energy it holds can be programmed for any usage-for example, if I wanted

solar energy, I would only have to program it for that kind of power, and that's what it

would produce." He explained. Putting it back in his pocket, he finally looked up. His

blue eyes fixed on the sky, and Pepper as well. After a long while, Tony got an idea.

Without speaking, he walked forward and transformed.

"Tony, what are you doing?!"

He lowered his back and motioned to her with his wing.

(_Get on!_) He thought to her enthusiastically. (_I haven't flown for fun in a while._)

"But-um, what about your spikes? I'll be impaled!" Pepper objected. Tony only smiled to

himself and arched his back. The two lines of sharp spikes immediately laid flat against

his scales.

(_You won't now._) He looked over at her, eyes full of excitement. Pepper couldn't refuse,

and besides, she was curious, so she obeyed and climbed onto his scaly back.

"Hey…wait, what do I hold on to?" She asked nervously as Tony straightened up.

(_You can hold onto my horns, just sit behind my neck. Don't worry; if you fall, I'll catch _

_you, and you probably won't.)_ He replied.

(_Probably? That isn't entirely reassuring. Have you ever done this before? Carried a _

_passenger, I mean.)_

_(Actually, no.)_

_(Great.)_

She shifted her position and gripped his two curved horns tightly. He walked over to the

edge of the balcony, stepped up onto the railing, and in one swift movement, jumped off

and spread his enormous wings, sailing into the night. Pepper almost shrieked, but after

one moment all her fear vanished. The rush of cold air blowing all around her, ruffling

her hair and clothes, felt amazingly refreshing after the hot summer's day it had been, and

she felt perfectly stable on his back, not the least bit wobbly. She felt Tony slow down

slightly.

(_You alright, Pepper?_) He asked.

"I'm fine, go faster!" Her stomach tingled with the sensation of rising as he smiled and

flapped his wings powerfully, rocketing forward and sending them up higher into the sky.

Pepper's eyes shone with happiness. They were so high up that the Xavier Institute

looked like a doll house, and the dim streetlights around the plaza were mere pinpricks of

light. In contrast, the stars and moon grew brighter and larger as they ascended into the

heavens, flying higher, and higher, until-

"Wow…Tony, this is amazing!" Pepper breathed. They were above the clouds now, and

the moon seemed so large and close she felt as if she could touch it. Tony slowed his

flight and glided down to the top of the clouds, tilting to one side and running the tip of

his wing through the cloud, causing a spray of water to flow out behind them. The water

droplets caught the light and shimmered a thousand different colors. Pepper extended her

hand as well, and shivered as freezing water droplets condensed on her hand. They

sparkled for a moment before sliding off and back into the cloud.

They flew on for a long time before Tony descended back onto earth and landed

neatly on the railing, ending their night flight.

(_See? That wasn't too bad. Did you have fun?_) Tony asked as she climbed off his back.

He transformed back and looked at Pepper. Her eyes were shining.

"That…was…AWESOME!" She practically shouted. He laughed at her excitement. He

returned her grin.

"Glad you had a good time, Pep." They both just stood there, smiling at each other, when

Pepper checked her watch and groaned.

"What is it?" Tony asked. Pepper looked up at him apologetically and spoke in a forlorn

voice. "It's like 12! Storm's gonna be back soon! I have to go…see you later!" She

walked over to the curtains and pulled them back, then walked through. He sighed. But

then her head peeked through the curtains.

"…Tony? Thanks for tonight, it really was fun." And then she was gone. Tony

grinned to himself and thought, (_You're welcome, Pepper._)


	18. The Heart Monitor

**Oookay! Hi everybody! :D How've you all been? I like hearing from you all in PMs, and remember, you can talk to me anytime! I'm always happy to chat :P Thank you time!**

**SilverPedals1402-hey, no problem! :) it's all cool! Thanks for reviewing anyways! You're so nice :)**

**PercyJacksonLover14-:') you seriously just made me so happy I ran around my house 3 times, top speed, in the rain. THANK YOU SO MUCH!1! you are seriously the most wonderfullest person on this planet asdgufiasdubcvsdb soduyrsd46tyd3**

**ImaAvenger: yay! Thanks so much for reading this! :D You're always so kind :) yeah, I think I did (well, the information was buried in the back of my mind-dude, that's like THE FINAL FRONTIER for me O.O) but yeah, I wasn't sure what his last name was, though, so I just made it Titanus. *shrugs* though I could change that if you'd like!**

**WolfOfProphecy's: no problem! One update, coming up! ;)**

**Chapter 18 "Time Goes On."**

**~The Next Day~**

"Beast, do you remember what the Professor told you about my heart condition?" Tony asked, addressing Hank whose back was turned.

"Hmm? Oh, yes, I remember. He said that your heart can't handle stress such as rapid beating and extreme muscle use, and that it limits your abilities, correct?' He replied, turning around to face his friend, who nodded.

"Well, I was thinking…"

"When DON'T you think, Tony?"

"…So, what if we could invent a life-supporting device that would aid my heart, maybe give it some more strength so I could do things without it hurting or failing, like an implant kind of thing." Beast considered the idea.

"I do believe it would be possible, but how would we get it in you? What would it run on? Something like that would take a TREMENDOUS amount of power, and you'd have to recharge it pretty darn often, you know. Double-A batteries won't work, sadly."

"Well, Storm is a really good surgeon; I suppose once I build it she could put it in." Tony mused.

"And as to the power question…" Tony reached into his pocket, dug around for a few moments, and pulled out a glowing blue sphere of metal. It was smaller than a tennis ball, but not by much. It was the same color as Tony's eyes; a light cobalt, and cast a faint glow around itself as if it were a small blue sun. Beast's eyes widened at the sight of it.

"…Tony, where'd you get that? What _is_ it?"

"It was my dad's. I don't know why, but he gave it to me when I was little, and I can remember him telling me that he created it. It can store huge amounts of energy, like a battery, only a thousand times more powerful. Not only that, but I can program it to use the energy it holds to strengthen my heart!" He explained, excitement growing in his voice. Beast thought for a moment, closing his slit-pupil eyes.

Tony hastily walked over to the desk and pulled out some papers.

"Here, I've already made the blueprints for it." Beast looked them over. He had to admit it: Tony's design was flawless. It showed the blue metal in the center of a circular device, about two inches thick and about three inches in circumference. Metal wires ran through a small opening in the metal sphere, around the length of the sides of the device, and then coming together to form a large plug that hung out the bottom.

"Well…I guess this would work. But, Tony, are you sure that you want to put all this metal into your chest? I mean, it _does_ have the chance to poison your blood and heart."

He cautioned. Tony nodded seriously. "I'm not worried. The chances of the metal being contaminated, and contaminating me, are very slim. Besides, even if I get poisoned, I can easily heal from it, right?" Beast thought once more, then smiled and said, "All right, let's get to work on it."

And so they did, for several long weeks, working on the life-support device, winding wires and metal, experimenting with different kinds of metal, welding the form and re-shaping it as necessary. Tony programmed it and Hank, even with his extremely large paws, built the delicate frame easily.

At last one day, a few weeks later, it was nearly finished. Tony whistled.

"Man, just look at it." It had been constructed exactly as it was in Tony's blueprints, three inches across and two inches deep. The inside was a mess of wires and circuits, with the plug poking through the bottom of it. In the direct center was a metal clamp which would hold Tony's special metal, the clamp was connected to a wire that ran around the circuitry-converting the energy pulse into the necessary level-and many other wires formed a tight plug. The plug would connect with Tony's heart, and the metal attached to it would provide the energy boost necessary.

There was a separate lid for it that Hank built separately so that the insides (and Tony's metal) would be protected, and the special metal had been programmed to keep Tony's heartbeats in sync with his activity level, so that it wouldn't fail if he strained himself too hard. The only thing left to do was to fasten the metal in the clamp, inside the device. Tony looked at Hank. Then the two geniuses broke out in grins and high-fived each other gleefully.

"Man, we're ALMOST finished with it!" Tony exclaimed happily.

"Yeah, only one thing left to do. Tony, I do believe you should put your father's metal inside, since it's yours." Tony nodded and pulled the glowing blue orb out of his pocket. He was about to place it in the clamp when something occurred to him.

"Hey…wait a second, we didn't tell the Professor or anybody about this yet! I think we should at least tell them before we go and ask Storm to cut me open and put it in." Tony reasoned. Reluctantly, Beast agreed.

But before they could go and talk to the Professor, Nightcrawler and Rhodey teleported into the room, out of breath and looking very disturbed.

"Tony, the Professor wants to see you, it's urgent! You've evidently received a video transmission from General William Stryker."

**QWICK NOTE-Sorry if I didn't describe Tony's implant very well, it's just like the one he has in the TV show, only it serves a different purpose and is slightly larger. This one has a much different purpose-give me a second to explain please? =3**

**Tony's heart's natural pacemaker, since it's damaged, emits an electrical signal that the implant picks up. The circuitry on the inside then draws energy from the sphere and converts it into the amount of electricity necessary to keep his heart going at the pace it's at. If his heart's pacemaker can't function properly, the implant takes over and controls his heart's beating for it.**

**Simple but elegant, right? ;) **


	19. Journey to The Lake

**DUDES! It's been way too long since I've updated. I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry! ;( Please don't attack me with pitchforks, torches and cotton candy! I've been superdy-duper busy with school, my family, my life, not to mention I had to rewrite this whole chapter to fit into the plot I'm changing. PLUS the internet is soo distracting and I'm seriously ADHD, so it took me a while to be able to concentrate on WRITING!**

**So, yeah. **

**Love you all, thanks for being so patient with me! I hope the length of this chapter compensates slightly for the time it took me to write it…and of course, that all you awesome people will enjoy it! :D**

**HEY GUYS! MAKE SURE YOU CHECK OUT PERCYJACKSONLOVER14'S STORY TAKEN OVER! IT'S EPICALLY AMAZING, WONDERFUL, ELOQUENTLY WRITTEN AND AWESOME!**

**Thanks again to you all for reviewing…*Sniff* you guys just make me so darn happy when you review, what you say, your enthusiasm and kindnesses are such huge inspirations! Seriously, you guys are who keep me writing! No, I'm not begging for reviews; review if ya want to, but I was just saying that you're all so wonderful and it's a blessing every time I get one.**

**ENOUGH OF THIS NOW! ALLONS-Y!**

**Chapter 19 "Journey To The Lake"**

Tony, Rhodey, and Pepper, followed closely by Kurt, ran into the room where Charles was waiting. He looked haggard and distraught, and was holding the remote to the TV. He paced around for a while, obviously thinking hard, when he noticed the four teens waiting at the door. He waved them in.

"Tony, good, you're here. Apparently, General Stryker knows a lot more about you than we thought. He's aired this message over and over again, through the History Channel-interrupted my program about mermaids, I might add-every five minutes." He spoke quickly, still pacing, and at last he stopped and clicked the remote. The TV came on and showed the same brown-haired man that had jumped out of the plane almost a year ago, General William Stryker. He was smirking.

"Good day, mutants of the _famed_ Xavier Institute." The General's voice oozed with mock politeness. "I do hope this message finds you well, especially you, Tony. For I wish to give you a message, and I would highly recommend you listen up."

"Why would I 'listen up' if the message repeats itself? He's an old nutter." Tony muttered, but he leaned in closer to the TV, heart quickening with anxiety.

"If you'll recall, the M.R.D. has been given orders, from Senator Kelly himself, to capture or exterminate mutants on sight. However," He paused dramatically, and grinned, apparently enjoying this very much.

"I would be more than delighted to make an exception to this rule for your filthy kind, in which I would _not _give orders for your death. All of mutantkind would no longer be killed immediately; you would be transported to a special holding tower, which, I might add, has very fine accommodations."

"The one condition to such a law, however, is that you, Tony, must visit me at Alkali Lake. I merely wish to speak to you, and absolutely have no intentions towards your harm. I know about your heart condition, your one weakness. It is for this reason which I wish to see you, because-" he held up a vial of grey liquid.

"-my scientists have found a cure." he smiled wickedly "I also know about your...unfortunate…loss of memory. That, too, with time, we could mend. I'll give you answers. I know you are desperate for an idea, an inkling of what your past was! And I'll even guarantee the safety of mutants my soldiers capture. Think on it, Stark. I'll be waiting."

And the screen went black, flickered a few times, and a commercial for Fruit Loops came on. All heads turned to Tony. But before he could speak, Rhodey interrupted. "It's a trap! Don't even think about going, Tony!"

"You can't decide that for me." Tony spoke slowly. All heads in the room turned to him abruptly, alarmed.

"Tony, You KNOW you can't go! All that Stryker wants is to capture you. Remember what the Professor said a while ago? The fact that General Stryker is _known for illegal experimentation on young mutants."_ Rhodey pointed out.

"I shall look into this matter myself-Tony, don't argue!" The Professor cut in sternly as Tony began to object. Then his voice became softer.

"Tony, you're a very powerful mutant, and all that General Stryker wants with you is to kill you, or maybe worse. It would be far safer to remain here and let us look into it. I know you wish-we all do!- that the M.R.D. would stop hunting us mutants as they do, but trust me, I will change that. One day, but not today, and _certainly not _with you as a sacrifice. Please, do as I say."

"Fine," Tony grumbled. But in the back of his mind he knew that he would go tonight, to Alkali Lake. Regaining his memory was too important.

_(And besides, I beat him once. Who says I can't do it again?)_

**~Later that evening~**

Midnight was upon the institute. The full moon shone directly overhead, brightening the dark corridors and thickening the shadows that lurked in corners. A lone figure stole silently through an all but abandoned hallway, walking fast. The moving shadow reached a stairwell, barred by a door and an electronic lock. It paused, seeming to think for a moment, and dialed in a code. The screen above the dial pad read "RainbowDashIsBestPony-password accepted", and the door silently hissed open, a row of bright fluorescent lights lighting the way down the spiral staircase. The figure stepped into the light and ran down the stairs.

After a little while, Tony reached a large underground hangar. An enormous black jet stood proudly in the center-the X-plane. He smiled slightly and started off towards it.

He climbed up the ladder and pulled a bright red lever once inside the plane, closing the hatch behind him. He went into the cockpit and strapped himself in the pilot's seat, and initiated the X-plane for takeoff. Tony flipped switches, pulled levers, adjusted gauges and gadgets here and there, and in a moment its jets fired up-but without a sound. He smiled to himself and thought, _(good thing I neutralized the sound waves generated by the thrusters and tech on board. It'll take off as silent as an owl.)_

Slowly the hangar door above opened, a thick filament of moonlight illuminating the darkened plane-and revealing a small figure hiding under the Co-pilot's seat. Tony took no notice of it, however, and the plane ascended and took off into the night.

**~_DERP DERP DERP~_**

Tony flew north until everything below was out of sight, replaced with green forest. The tips of the thick fir trees eventually became capped with white snow as he flew on, going north to Canada. He sighed in boredom. There was so little to do, and his fingers kept assembling and disassembling the X-plane's TV remote. The built-in GPS system he designed told him that he'd as arrive at Alkali Lake in ten minutes.

Ten minutes seemed like an hour to him. He could feel every beat of his heart, throbbing in his ears, pounding in the center of his chest, reverberating through his skull. His eyes fixed on the horizon, set ablaze by the infinite number of stars and the moon, of course, glowing intensely.

But he wasn't so focused that he didn't hear a tiny sneeze to his right. He jumped immediately, sending the plane in a tight spiraling plummet to the ground. There was a feminine shriek and Pepper was thrown out of her hiding place by the plane's dizzying movements.

"Pepper?!" Tony shouted in rage and surprise, seizing the controls and righting the plane again. Pepper fell from the ceiling, landing right next to him with a solid _thunk. _She groaned and slowly stood up, ignoring the glare Tony threw at her.

"Pepper, why'd you sneak on here?!"

"No, why are YOU in here? You KNOW The Professor said no to going to Alkali!"  
"Look, I can't just-"  
"IT. IS. A. TRAP." She shouted. "Stryker's going to capture you, use you! Once we arrive there, there will be tons of bad guys-"  
"What do you mean, "we"? I'm taking you back to the Institute."

"Then I'll tell the Professor you snuck out, he'll use Cerebro to find you and control you, bring you back, and BOOM!-no lab for a month." Pepper threatened. Tony paled.

"You wouldn't."  
"I would. Besides…two have a better chance of beating M.R.D. minions up than one." She grinned. Tony grimaced reluctantly, but gave in.

"Fine .No fighting, no crazy things, just be careful, Pep."

"As long as you'll be." She replied softly.

Tony didn't respond; his eyes were fixed once more on the horizon, from which loomed a gigantic forest of snow-capped trees. In the center stood solidly a massive lake, frozen all the way through. A half-frozen river gushed on a plateau; its northern part blocked by a huge dam. On its eastern side a building, surrounded by the black M.R.D. trucks, as well as several helicopters. About 50 foot soldiers camped around a fire, looking miserable and cold. The building itself wasn't too large, although it was attached to a huge dam that prevented millions of gallons of water on the plateau above from splashing into the Lake.

The most peculiar thing about the building, however, was that it and the courtyard looked like they had been ravaged. Trees were broken in half. Rocks showed black scorch marks and cracks. The ground that should've been smooth and even had been gouged in many places, with a thin layer of debris frozen to the snow.

"So this is Alkali Lake, huh?" Pepper spoke softly. Tony nodded slowly.

The place seemed familiar to him! He felt like he was on the verge of remembering something about this broken place, as if it held something important from his past. The trees, the lake, the wilderness…those claw marks… (_What IS this place?!_)

"Are you ready for this?" Pepper asked nervously as they began to descend into the forest, heading for the frozen lake. But all those M.R.D. soldiers made him nervous, and they didn't look too welcoming.

"Yeah, I think so...it's just that something feels…off about this place…I've been here before, I know I have!" He replied, frustrated.

Their jet slowly descended onto the lake, with Tony expertly shifting the controls and joystick for a perfect touchdown. He and Pepper unbuckled themselves and started off towards the door. Tony paused, his hand at the lever that would lower the platform from the X-plane. A wave of dread swooped over him for a moment, a dark foreboding of things to come. But he shook his head and lowered the lever anyways, and the bright light of the full moon spilled inside the plane as the platform lowered itself with a hissing creak onto the snowy ground below, and they descended it without a word.

**~Meanwhile, nearby~**

"Sir! A report has just come in; there is an unidentified plane landing on the lake." A lone M.R.D. soldier walked up to his superior, grave yet excited-the looks of a young lad who had just joined the Army and was eager to prove his worth. The one to whom he was talking to, General Stryker of course, smiled. "Ah, our young friend Tony has accepted my generous offer. He's more naïve than I realized. Go tell Captain Moraine to send a welcoming committee to the mutant, chloroform him and bring him in."

"Yes, sir."

And the young soldier dashed off, his large black boots kicking up a spray of snow in his hurry. Stryker smiled again as he watched the figure disappear into the night.

_(You will be mine, you young fool. Once more.)_

**~Back at the lake~**

Pepper squinted across the lake. It had begun to snow, obscuring her vision. She shivered violently in the frigid air, but Tony seemed perfectly at ease in the light snowstorm, probably because he was half frost dragon.

Totally unfair.

She bit her lower lip, trying to keep her teeth from chattering and wishing for all the world she was back at the Institute, sitting by the warm, cozy fire in the High School common room and sipping Kurt's inter-school famous German hot chocolate. Why did she even come with? Part of her said, _because you like him. _The more sensible, slightly less crazy side said, _for an adventure! _She knew it was partly both of those, but mainly the fact that she wanted to be there for him, supporting him all the way, and-why not?-she had to admit, his blue eyes made her heart skip a beat every time they fixed upon her. His mischievous grin was always contagious-although she privately thought her grins looked a tad crazy.

"Well, I think we'll have to fly over there, walking's too slow." Tony's voice interrupted her musings, and he strode into view, his hands casually in his pockets. He started off to the west, his shoes crunching lightly on the ice. Pepper was about to follow him, but remembered that the X-plane had a storage closet-with comfy winter coats.

"Hold up Tony, I'm going to get a jacket. This place is freezing…" she called, and at his nod she climbed back up the ladder and into the plane.

Tony gazed across the speckled lake. The first few glimmers of the sunrise bled the dark night; ribbons of crimson color like sharp talons scratching the sky. His left ear twitched, and he tilted his head to hear better the strange humming noise. Then his heart plummeted. The swirling flakes of white blocked his view but he knew that sound well-M.R.D. trucks. In a moment, four came into view, all brandishing weapons at the ready and stern soldiers ready to fight. He backed up as they surrounded him, blocking his path back to the plane.

(_Tony!) _Pepper's frightened voice whimpered in his mind. He could sense her back in the plane.

_(Just hang on Pep, don't let them know you're here. Now we'll see…) _He thought back as the trucks stopped. He was surrounded. Everything was still for a few moments, three seconds of tense waiting, suspense, unease. Tony's heart throbbed as if it would burst, as if it were telling him _go away. It's not safe here. They'll harm you…_

Silence.

"FIRE!" a voice shouted, and before Tony could react, each truck shot a miniature harpoon cable at him. One stuck in his back; one dug into each of his sides, and one pierced his rib cage. Then they retracted just enough so that if he moved in any direction, the deadly sharp barbs would rip his skin further.

(_Tony!) _Pepper's mind's voice yelped in fear. He shouted in surprise and pain, but managed to think back, _(Pepper…I'm, sorry. I'm so sorry. I got you into this mess. I should have listened to The Professor; to Rhodey...I can't believe how STUPID I am! But you have to go back. Tell them I'm here, tell them what happened_. _If they don't kill me…_) his mind trailed off as a smug-looking Captain strode out from one of the trucks.

_(NO! Tony, I'm not going to abandon you. I…) _her mind's voice faltered.

_I can't. I won't!)_

_(Yes you will! I'm not going to let them hurt…agh…hurt you too! Please, Pepper!) _She could hear the pain in his voice. She believed him. She hated herself for doing this, but…

_(Please, Pep, I wouldn't be able to stand it if you got hurt. I can stand whatever they'll so to me. I have my healing factor, right? Maybe if the Professor rescues me, he won't end up killing me…)_

"Tony Stark, I presume." The captain drawled, looking the young teen over with an arrogant eye. "These young mutants just never get any smarter, do they?" In his hand was a white rag, soaked in chloroform. He slowly walked closer to Tony, who narrowed his eyes, glared and stayed silent.

(_Pepper…any day now!)_

"And would you look at that! He brought us a fancy plane as a gift." He smiled at Tony. "Thanks, boy. But what are you doing out of bed so late, my young friend? Why don't you get some…sleep?" At the last word, he ran forward and thrust the rag onto Tony's mouth. Tony yelled in surprise and struggled, blood running down his body as the hooks bit deeper into his skin, but they held him fast. His mind grew foggy from the powerful drug, and his last thought before he passed out was, _(Pepper, go…)_

And the world around him faded. Captain Moraine smiled and gave the order to retract the harpoons. They tore his skin as they came out, one of them withdrawing from his body with a piece of flesh impaled on a barb. A soldier came forth and cuffed Tony's legs and arms before picking his unconscious body up and tossing him like a rag doll into the back of a truck.

A tear slid down Pepper's cheek as she turned her back on the scene below her and fled back into the plane, to the pilot's seat, anywhere but the nightmare below her. She was hyperventilating, the ground beneath her swayed as if she were standing on the top of a cresting wave. But she forced herself to concentrate and followed the directions she was taking from Tony's mind to start the plane.

Moraine watched openmouthed and enraged as the magnificent plane he thought was empty suddenly drew its platform ladder up and took off. He saw a pretty girl sitting at the controls as it turned around in the sky and flew over his head, heading back south from where it came. He snarled in anger and spun around, stomped back to his truck, and sped off, heading back towards the base of Alkali Lake.

At least he had Tony. He was all the General cared about getting…


	20. Torment and Terror

**WHASSUP EVERYONE?! I know this is kinda late, but…well, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and had fun celebrating the coming of 2013. :D**

**Now then-'cause you all know I like to talk to you guys-REPLIES!**

**UltraRed55-Cool, I'm glad you liked it! Yeah, she didn't know how to-until she read Tony's mind and found out! ;)**

**SilverPedals1402-:D Thank you! I'm so happy you thought the ending was great!**

**PercyJacksonLover14-Eeyup, he's not going to remember all of us screaming at him for being an idiot. Don't worry; I'll make sure he knows! ;) Haha, was that too gruesome for ya? I thought it seemed a bit sketchy myself…oh well! Thanks for another super-encouraging and awesome review!**

**And for enjoying my story :)**

**WolfOfProphecy's-*Whew* I'm so glad! here's the update!**

**ImaAvenger-Thanks :P Soon, just trust me!**

**CindyLou30-Oh no! I've finally done it-I'VE DRIVEN YOU INSANE AND ALMOST EXPLODD YOUR PHONE! *panic panic panic* I'm sorry! Hope this chapter makes up for it! Thanks for reviewing as always :)**

**Allons-y!**

**Chapter 20, "Torment and Terror"**

**Quick warning-this chapter's pretty violent and graphic…not for those who faint at the thought of blood!**

**~Back at the Xavier Institute~**

Pepper was running as she never had before. She dashed up the stairs of the hangar-still hot inside due to the X-plane's landing-burst through the door and ran down the hall to the Professor's office-which was empty.

She put a finger to her temple and concentrated on finding the Professor-sending her consciousness out to all the other minds in a mile-long radius. After a moment she felt another in her mind.

(_Hello Pepper, how are you doing tonight? And how was Alkali Lake? I trust that you and Tony didn't do anything rash?_) Charles Xavier's pleasant voice resounded in her head. She grimaced, knowing he had found out, and quickly, through telepathy, relayed what had happened to Tony; how he had told her to get out before Stryker could capture them both.

(_WHAT?!_) Xavier's mind thundered. She winced, feeling the crushing power of his anger.

(_Pepper, I want you to go and get Storm. It's time for a rescue mission. I'll meet you at the hangar with Scott and Hank._) She gulped and nodded, then took off once more, heading for the underground wing of the Xavier Institute. She tumbled down the steps in a hurry, all the while muttering, "Tony, what's Stryker doing to you? Please be okay…"

**~At Alkali Lake's underground base~**

Tony twisted around, thrashing and pulling his arms, trying to break the iron manacles that bound his body to the table by his ankles and wrists, but it was no use. He had transformed back into his human form on the way back and passed out from lack of energy, and suddenly found himself chained to an examination table. Next to him, on both sides, were two robotic arms, each equipped with a needle-like point. They appeared to be broken, slash marks and huge gouges taken out of their sides and computers, wires exposed like entrails.

(_Great, just great…_) He thought bitterly. Chained to that freakish table, he felt like a lab rat about to be dissected. He recalled only now what the Professor had said, merely hours ago; (_Tony, you're a very powerful mutant, and all that General Stryker wants with you is to kill you, or maybe worse._)

But the strange feeling of recognition for this place stayed with him, and grew stronger. He felt a deep twinge in his gut as he looked around. The experimentation room he was in wasn't much better off than the outside of the base. Scattered papers and desks, pounded into shards, littered the floor and there were multiple claw slash marks on everything. Spatters of dried blood stained some of the walls. Old X-rays of somebody's skeleton were the only thing left. They were everywhere, all from different angles. Hips, chest (The rib cage appeared to have ruptured), legs, and arms. But then Tony spotted something that made him feel cold all over.

One of the X-rays, stashed in a dark corner, was of a dragon's body.

He stared at it in horror, recognizing the features as his own. Two legs-just like him. Two huge wings-check. Long tail-yup, that was the same as well. He looked to the left of the large diagram to see an x-rayed dragon's skull. Two large, curved horns protruded from the top of it, and a row of smaller spines trailed from the horns and down the back of the neck and vertebrae.

(_So I HAVE_ _been here before! But when? Why? I don't think Stryker's going to give me any answers._) Once more, he cursed himself for being so stupid. But sometimes, he reasoned, one had to do something for everyone else's good…right? He did have a tendency to act rashly, often stupidly. But this…this was probably his biggest screw-up.

Ever.

His mind raced to come up with a solution, but just then, the door in the corner behind him opened, and several scientists, led by Stryker himself, marched in. The scientists went behind the few surviving computers and began to discuss something, while Stryker stepped up to Tony. He noticed the alarm in the young boy's eyes and smiled smugly.

"It appears you recognize this place, hmm?" He teased. Tony gritted his teeth and refused to look up.

"I don't know. _Have_ I been here before?" He retorted. Stryker made s _tsk-tsk_ noise.

"Ah, Tony, you're a genius! Certainly by now you realize I'm going to tell you nothing. If I did, you'd kill me, and I can't allow that." He replied, with the same pleasant, calm, tone that made Tony's blood boil. His eyes flared up with anger as Stryker spoke again, but his time, to the scientists. "Bring me the tools. Then leave us, but station two heavily armed guards outside of the door." The scientists obeyed, bringing their commander a tray loaded with knives, scalpels, pincers, tongs, tweezers, picks, and other charming surgical instruments. They then filed slowly out the door, still talking. Stryker picked up one of the tools from his tray; a sharp, long dagger with a wickedly curved blade. He held it over Tony's body, blade pointing directly down.

"Now, you listen to me now." His voice was dangerously quiet.

"I'm going to ask you some questions, and if you don't cooperate, I'll slice you open like an apple. And even your healing powers won't be able to save you one I'm done dissecting you. Now, first question-where is the School for Mutants located?" he snapped. Tony laughed to himself, wondering if Stryker really was so stupid as to thinking he'd be able to simply walk into the school. One doesn't simply do that. Didn't matter, he could NEVER tell anyone, especially not the M.R.D.!

"I'll never tell you." He growled. Stryker grimaced.

"That's too bad."

And suddenly, he plunged the knife into Tony's chest, just below his left collarbone, then dragged it across his body, slicing his shirt as well as his skin, and laughing as Tony screamed in pain, body convulsing, as blood spurted from the long, ugly slash. He paused and withdrew the knife, dripping blood.

"Your thick dragon's skin makes you hard to cut, youngling. But not impossible. I know there's one out there! It's where you and your pathetic friends have been hiding all these months! Where's the school?!" He repeated. Tony clenched his teeth against the terrible pain, preparing for another cut as he choked out several more words. They seared his throat as if they were acid.

"You'll…never…know!"

He then shouted out once more in pain as Stryker cut him again, in the middle of his chest this time. Tony's head was throbbing; he could see only red, and it wasn't from his own blood.

"WHERE-IS-THE SCHOOL?! TELL ME NOW!"

"n-never…AAAAGGGGHHHH!" once more Stryker sliced his chest, he had gone this time into this right side. This time Tony felt the blade scrape his rib cage. The pain was unimaginable; it was like he was being sliced in half while salt water was being poured on his other wounds, and he could barely breathe. His life's blood was pouring out, seeping off the table and onto the floor, and he could do nothing but scream and convulse in sheer agony while Stryker watched. His vision was fading, the shapes of the room blurred and darkened as the searing pain sharpened. He had to get out, but how? Fighting for consciousness, he squinted at the dark figure looming over him, and turned his head sideways. His violent struggles had loosened the chains a bit, and that, plus his deep abhorrence for Stryker, gave him an idea.

It was a desperate hope, but he suddenly spit into Stryker's face, and as the man shouted out a few curses and staggered back, as he placed a hand on the control board to steady himself, his index finger tapped a button and the manacles popped off Tony's body. He allowed himself to roll over and fall to the ground, landing in a pool of his own blood. His chest was on fire; he couldn't imagine ever moving again, but Tony grasped the side of the table and used it to pull himself up.

As he struggled to his feet, he suddenly cried out once more as Stryker, who had wiped the spit off his face, lunged at him and slashed Tony's right arm. He then grabbed the struggling teen's wrist and tried to haul him back onto the table.

"Forget it!" He spat. "You're not getting awa-AAAYYYIIIEEEE!" He screamed and let Tony's wrist go as the latter bit his hand, hard. Tony tasted metallic blood and let go, stumbling away. As Stryker cradled his hand, screaming for the 'idiotic guards' to come in, Tony took off down the hallway to the left.

Gasping for air and partially limping, Tony staggered down the long hall, scanning the walls for an exit, but there was none. He heard the loud tromping of the guard's boots thundering on the metal ground, and he then transformed. He could still feel the wounds, just underneath his chest plates. Blood still seeped from underneath them.

The guards were right behind him.

He wouldn't make it much farther.

He had hit a dead end.

Just as the guards fired their metal nets at him, he lunged at the wall to his left, going intangible just as he did, and passed right through the wall and ended up outside on the snow. He collapsed there, panting and gasping for air as the pain only grew worse.

He couldn't see anymore, and the ground beneath him began to spin.

But then, like a miracle, he felt Charles in his mind, talking rapidly to him.

(_ANTHONY EDWARD STARK. What on God's green earth were yout…oh, no…_) the scalding reprimand broke off as Charles, back in the X-plane, sensed Tony's critical condition.

"Open the doors!" He shouted. Beast, who had built the plane with Tony and was at the controls, obediently pulled the lever, and an opening formed in the back of the plane.

"Rhodey, Nightcrawler, Bobby, come with me!" He ordered, and the four ran outside the plane and into the snow.

(_Come on, Tony…just hold on a little longer…we're coming!_) He thought frantically as they ran towards the area where Tony lay motionless. By the time they got there, Tony's energy had run out and he was human once more. A dark puddle of crimson liquid melted the snow beneath his broken body.

"Oh, no…no…" Rhodey muttered as he, Bobby, and Charles lifted Tony's motionless body up and started to carry it back to the plane.

"Wait, stop, we're not fast enough!" Charles pointed out, and they halted. M.R.D. soldiers were pouring out of the building, heading to the X-plane immediately.

"How do we get out of here, then?!" Bobby shouted over the wind. Charles turned to Nightcrawler.

"Kurt, if you would, please." Nightcrawler nodded and stepped forward, then placed his hand on Charles's arm. The four suddenly disappeared in a red puff of smoke, and the next moment they were inside the X-plane.

"Beast, set the plane to Hospital mode, and hurry, take off! We're going back to the mansion!" Charles cried. Beast pulled on a lever three times, and the back half of the plain, which was empty, morphed into a replica of a hospital room. A white bed unfolded in the corner next to a window, a table slid up from the ground in the middle. I.V.'s, heart monitors, and other medical gadgets came up next to it. A cabinet came out from the wall; storage for medicines and other things.

Charles set Tony down on the table. Everyone rushed to their seats, except for Charles, Pepper, and Rhodey, who remained by Tony' side. The plane rumbled and took off with a jolt, then sped away over the treetops, leaving the M.R.D., General Stryker, Alkali Lake, and it's horrors behind. Once the flight evened out everyone unbuckled and rushed to Tony. Charles had already pressed a towel to Tony's wounds, pressing down firmly to stop the profuse bleeding. Tony was unconscious, his skin chalk white. A rush of voices followed.

"Pepper, get some medication!"

"Where?!"

"In the cabinet to the left-no, my left! Storm, get ready to operate, he's wounded pretty badly. Beast, how soon until we're home?"  
"About an hour, sir, maybe more."  
"Tony doesn't have that long. Rhodey, set up a heart monitor."  
"Is he still alive?"

"We'll see."

A stricken silence followed that grim statement as Rhodey attached a couple of cords to Tony's blood-coated chest. They stuck on, and everyone held their breath as Rhodey turned the screen on and flipped a switch.

_Beep…beep…beep…_

Tony's heart was going fatally slow…

_beep…beep…beep…_

"Storm, hurry up! Oh, no, look at those slashes…we'll probably have to stitch him up; even his healing ability won't be able to heal those fast enough." The professor bit his lip with worry and watched, along with everyone else, as Storm cautiously poked the needle through Tony's skin, then began to stitch the sides of one of the long, ugly slash wounds together.

_Beep…beep…beep…_Tony's heart was slowing down. Storm had stitched two of the wounds together and had nearly completed the third. Pepper bit her lip and desperately fought back tears. Her eyes, along with Rhodey's, were fixed on the monitor, displaying the running line, bumping up whenever it detected a heartbeat.

_Beep…beeep…beeeee- _The monitor suddenly flashed red and the line ceased.

His heart had stopped.

Pepper and Rhodey gasped at the same moment, the second when Tony's heartbeats failed. Storm's eyes widened and she backed up nervously. A murmuring went up in the room as Charles stepped forward and placed his hands on the side of Tony's head and concentrated, inching into Tony's blank mind, searching for the spark that held his life.

(_Tony…wake up! You must wake up!_)

Silence.

(_Tony, everyone's here…you're safe in the x-plane, and we're going to bring you home. Back to the school, alright? Storm stitched up your wounds. You'll heal in a matter of several days.)_

Still nothing.

(_Tony! Don't! Please, wake up…we don't want to lose you. Please, answer me…_)

(…_Alkali…I've…seen it…before…_)

(_What?!_-)

(ALKALI LAKE!)

"NOOO!"

Tony suddenly gasped and bolted up, breathing hard, his face white with shock.

Everyone stumbled back, startled. The heart monitor resumed its beeping, going at an

unbelievably rapid pace. Everyone maintained a respectful silence, and yet the air itself buzzed with their excitement. Pepper's the most. She didn't show it, however, and instead gave him her famous Death Glare. He smiled back sheepishly, but it quickly faded when Charles sighed with relief.

"Back from the dead, I'd say. Tony, you scared the heck out of us just now! How are you

feeling?" he asked with gentle concern. By way of answer, Tony moaned and lay back

down, clutching the still-open wound on his arm.

"Here, I'll take care of that." Storm came forward and gently unclasped Tony's rigid

fingers, then carefully resumed the stitching. He closed his eyes painfully, trying hard to

ignore the stabs of pain in his chest that robbed him of his breath. Charles noticed his

discomfort and turned to Pepper.

"I think we should give him some medication. Pain reliever, as well as a sleeping

drought." He whispered.

Tony opened his eyes to a squint and looked down at himself. He felt nauseas at the sight

of his own mangled flesh, stitched together with thin black thread. He then closed his

eyes and let his head fall back, slipping into unconsciousness once more, the pain and

confusion of the moment too much to take. Charles looked over just as Tony passed out. He sighed and shook his head again.

_(Tony…for a genius, you are absurdly thick. For someone who spent half his life on the run, you should know better than to have willingly wandered into the wolf's den. But what did he mean when he said that he's seen this place before? I suppose it's obvious; Stryker did something to his memory, and for the life of me, I can't find out what!)_

**Hey guys! I know I don't usually do notes at the end, they're usually at the beginning, but I want you guys' honest opinion, please-what do you think of this story? Chapters too long? Not suspenseful enough? Boring? Slow-moving? Inaccurate with the characters? Anything you think I could improve on, PLEASE tell me! I really appreciate it and would thank you profusely for telling me the truth :)**


	21. Erik's Plan

**:) Thanks, all, for your encouragement and more-than kindly words! Seriously. You guys completely BLEW MY MIND. I'm glad I have a shovel! I had to scoop bits of brain off the walls O.O**

**Well, I'm more than pleased that you all think there's nothing to improve on in this story. So, without further a-**

**WAIT WAIT I STILL NEED TO DO THANK YOUS!**

**Fine. Get to them.**

***Ahem* (Brace yourselves, I'll be saying 'thanks' a lot!)**

**SilverPedals1402-**Thanks! I'm glad you like it. If there's anything at ALL you don't like, or think should be different, plot holes, etc., then just say so! (This goes for anyone else who might be reading this!)

**PercyJacksonLover14-**:') That was so kind! Thank you! :D You know, I always look forward to reading your reviews, because you always bring me up and say the right things (Except when you say that I might possibly be a better writer than you-there's honestly NO contest whatsoever! You. Are. AMAZING.) And don't worry about me not continuing this story; I'm sticking with it 'till the end!

**imaAvenger****-**O_O Noo! Not the straightjackets, ANYTHING BUT THEM! ;) Okay, little less graphic violence, got it! Thanks a million, hundred billion, trillion, quadrillion, quintillion, sextillion, septillion, octillion, nonillion, decillion, and whatever follows after!

**Lupss-**Ah-ah-ah, not too much Pepperony yet! *Waggles finger* ;) There are a lot of other things going on, like the MRD trying to find The School, killing and imprisoning mutants, etc. But I promise you, there's DEFINETELY Pepperony. Just wait a tic, please, and thanks as always!

**Cindylou30****-**LOL! I'm sorry I made you insane, I truly am! This chapter tones things down quite a bit, looking more into Erik's past and pain, so hopefully it'll give you some recovery time! ;) Thanks again for reviewing! You're AWESOME! (By the way, don't look into the sun, please! You won't be able to write anymore! *Cries at the thought*)

**dragonborn360-**Yes, exactly! He's not as much of an arrogant show-off as he is in the series. Nice job on noticing that! Hope you enjoy and thanks for reviewing! :)

***Sigh* You know, I really am happy I started writing. You all are so supportive and generous, uplifting, and wonderful friends to have. Thanks, to the ends of the earth, for all of this!**

**Now then.**

**That's all! Allons-y!**

**Chapter 21 "Erik's Plan"**

Erik Lehnsherr watched from the shadows as Charles, Pepper, and Rhodey gently set Tony down on the bed, back in the Xavier Institute, in the infirmary room. He was still unconscious, and would be for a while, due to all the blood he lost. They talked among themselves for a while and then left, shutting the door behind them. With the room now empty, Erik walked up to the hospital bed that held Tony's listless form. He looked at the deep wounds the teen had suffered, long, jagged slashes that ran from collarbone to his midsection, now stitched up. His healing ability kicked in now, and the edges of the gashes slowly began to close.

Erik's hatred for humanity had long been underneath his other emotions, but now they bubbled back up to the surface. He clenched his fists, remembering that day when one of the M.R.D.'s former leaders, Sebastian Shaw, murdered his mother because Erik couldn't move a coin he set out. Those were back in the days when mutantkind was thought to be a myth, merely an old scientist's ravings.

He remembered his primal rage completely.

(_A young boy gasped as the man at the desk pulled the trigger and ended her life. Erik's mother dropped to the floor, dead, a stream of blood flowing from her head._

_Erik screamed and all things metal in the room went crazy. Desks crumpled. Cabinets collapsed on themselves. Most brutally, the helmets of the guards in the room shrunk and crinkled, and Erik paid no heed to their tortured screams as the helmets crushed their skulls with an awful crunching noise and drove shards of bone into their brains._

_Erik continued his bestial scream, using his voice and powers for all he was worth, crushed in the agony of his mother's death. He hadn't seen her in years-years of nothing but torment!-and then suddenly she was taken away in a matter of seconds._

_Gone._

_After what felt like an hour his rage had subsided somewhat, and everything was quiet once more. Peaceful, never, due to the three dead bodies on the floor, crimson liquid pooling from their heads, and the shattered remains of cabinets and desks._

_"Well done, Erik." The cruel man said, walking forward and placing his hand on the trembling boy's shoulder._

_"You and I, we're going to have so much fun.")_

Erik shuddered to himself. He could find no words that would ever describe the agony-filled years that had gone by after his mother's death. Shaw had used him as a lab rat; relentlessly experimenting on the poor boy with neither mercy nor pity, and exposed him to pain that implanted itself in the boy's heart and mind forever.

He smiled ruefully. His mind was set on one thing-destroying all of humankind from the earth, leaving only the mutants, who, he believed, were the next step in evolution.

(_We, as mutants, are superior to them!)_

He didn't need Charles anymore; he could find help elsewhere…especially in the young boys, Gene and John. He suspected they, too had the same ideas about humanity.

**~Later on, in the plaza with Gene and John ~**

Gene frowned and stalked up and down the plaza.

"So, you're basically saying we should leave here, the one safe haven for mutants." He stated. Erik nodded.

"…That humanity needs to be eliminated completely…" Erik nodded once more.

"…And also that we should try and kill the Professor?" His voice dropped low. Once more, Erik nodded.

"We don't need that old fool getting in our way." He replied coldly.

Cold was his tone, but, deep inside his twisted being, he felt a pang of guilt at those words. He and Charles had been friends for a long time-Charles had even saved his life and taught him to better control his powers!-and to suddenly stab him in the back, literally…no. No, he couldn't think about that now, he'd cross that bridge when it came to that.

Gene stopped and grinned at John.

"I'm in."

"Me, too."

Erik smiled. "Not yet, however. We should wait until after the contest, when everyone's celebrating in the great hall. Then, amidst all the dancing and pandemonium, we shall do away with him and be gone in a matter of seconds."

_(And once the School and everyone against me is out of the plan, then the war against humanity will ensue. And nobody will be able to resist an army of trained mutants-or myself!)_

**NOTE: The contest that Erik spoke of shall be explained in the next chapter, so hold on 'till then! See ya'll soon! **


End file.
